Image 4 Edited Scaled E1774909568805 — Nick + Terry Saban pose in front of final beam (Ella Seaton / The Bama Buzz)

Today, Saban Center celebrated its topping out, a major milestone in the construction of the first-of-its-kind learning campus for STEM and the arts currently taking shape in Tuscaloosa.

The beam was hoisted onto the structure, signaling significant progress in the construction of this project.

Keep reading to learn more about The Saban Center.

Construction Photo — Saban Center (Ella Seaton / The Bama Buzz)

What is it?

The space is designed with the future in mind. The Saban Center will be a hub for STEM education, the arts and community in Tuscaloosa and the surrounding region.

“It’s actually a promise, a promise to our next generation, a promise to invest in their futures, a promise that the uncertainty of today’s world can be conquered by knowledge and wisdom.”

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox

Planning for the center began in 2019. The project broke ground in Aug. 2025, and the final beam raising marks the halfway-point of its construction.

“This team has literally worked on this project for years. It has been an effort since 2019 that we’ve been all working day in and day out on this project.”

Audrey Buck, Executive Director of Saban Center

The Saban family gathered with city, state and trade partners at the construction site to mark the occasion, which reflects the progress by general contractor Stone Building Company.

What to know

The building is projected to be 118,000-square-feet
Set within a 7.71-acre landscape along the Black Warrior River
Set to open in 2027

Partners include

Saban Center Construction (Ella Seaton / The Bama Buzz)

The Sabans have worked in close collaboration with architects from Steinberg Hart and Birmingham-based Davis Architects on the designs for The Saban Center.

“It’s not the biggest building in the community. It’s not the tallest building. So it had to be exceptional in the way it looked, for it to stand out.”

Malcom Holzman of Steinberg Hart

The Saban Center will unite several of Tuscaloosa’s most storied community institutions including:

Terry Saban says the center will be a resource for educators as well.

“It’s going to be about professional development for our teachers, who will come here and extend their professional development as a teacher, and take that education back to the classroom. I’m most excited about that as an old teacher myself.”

Terry Saban

Transporting of the final beam (Ella Seaton / The Bama Buzz)

CambridgeSeven is developing the concept and design of the interactive educational exhibits. Theatre Projects is providing venue planning and room design, performance equipment design, acoustics, audiovisual and integrated technologies for the new facility.