Tuscaloosa officially approves new proposal for Sports Illustrated resort
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After months of public opinion and debate at Tuscaloosa City Council meetings, the city has finally approved the latest proposal for a Sports Illustrated resort just off the University of Alabama campus.
The proposal has been a talking point for residents for nearly two years but Tuesday night, it took another step to becoming a reality. The final project is slightly different from the original resort plan, roughly a two-thirds scale according to project developers.
The resort will be located on Rice Mine Road Loop, just north of the Black Warrior River.
There is currently no timetable for when workers will begin to clear the land for site preparation or when construction could start.
SI Resort
The latest proposal features a six-story resort, down from nine stories, but it would still include:
- Hotel rooms
- Timeshare units
- Privately owned condos
- Food + drink outlets
- Retail buildings
- Central services building
- Parking
- Outdoor areas
Tuscaloosa was chosen by Sports Illustrated for its first college-town resort back in 2023.
The Crimson Tide has been on the cover of the Sports Illustrated magazine more than any other college, making Tuscaloosa the clear choice for the company’s first college-town resort.
“The University of Alabama has a rich athletic history across all sports. There is no city more passionate and supportive of their university athletics quite like Tuscaloosa. So when it came time to choose where we wanted to launch Sports Illustrated Resorts, the choice was obvious. We believe we could not have picked a better city, university and community for our flagship resort.”
Austin Bolton, University + community partnerships for SI resorts
According to the SI, the proposal is also directly in line with the city’s future riverwalk plans and allows the city to expand economically on both sides of the river. The resort would also help connect Randall Family Park to Cypress Inn.
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