Developers in Tuscaloosa have revealed the official renderings for a Sports Illustrated ‘fan resort’ in Tuscaloosa roughly a year after the unconventional plan was announced.
According to a report from the Tuscaloosa Thread, the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Travel & Leisure and TTL Inc., who represents the sports media giant, revealed the renderings during a meeting of the Riverfront Advisory Commission this week.
The resort is planned for north of the Black Warrior River between two ramps onto McFarland Boulevard from Rice Mine Road, as shown on this map:
Austin Bolton, in charge of University and Community Partnerships for Sports Illustrated Resorts, from Huntsville, and a graduate of the University of Alabama, spoke to the committee about why he thinks Tuscaloosa is the perfect place for a resort like this.
“The University of Alabama, as you all know, has a rich athletic history across all sports,” Bolton said. “There is no city more passionate and supportive of their university athletics quite like Tuscaloosa,” he said. “So when it came time to choose where we wanted to launch Sports Illustrated Resorts, the choice was obvious. We could not have picked a better city, University and community for our flagship resort.”
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
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