Sports Illustrated to Kill Current Plan for Tuscaloosa Resort, Return to Drawing Board

Developers planning a multi-phase college sports resort and hotel on the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa are tossing their concepts and returning to the drawing board after citizens and elected officials expressed growing concerns about their pitch to date.

As the Thread has reported extensively, Travel & Leisure Co. is teaming up with Sports Illustrated to create a portfolio of luxury resorts in college towns where athletics really matter.

The Tuscaloosa location is meant to be the first of its kind and proof of concept for others to come - right now the only Sports Illustrated resort is in the Dominican Republic, and its tropical theme is far from what developers pitched for the new collegiate brand.

The resort is planned for Rice Mine Road between the old Cypress Inn restaurant and the Randall Family Trailhead of the Northern Riverwalk.

Get our free mobile app

After announcing their intent to come to Tuscaloosa last September, the project went off the radar until last month, when developers shared the first renderings and floor plans of the 9-story hotel and five additional multi-floor buildings filled with condos and timeshare units.

Concerns about the plan surfaced at an interest meeting hosted by city councilman Norman Crow earlier this month, and really materialized Tuesday night during a public hearing.

Some citizens and council president Kip Tyner said the nine-story concept is too tall and will negatively impact the scenery around the Black Warrior. Others want to know much more about the timeshare concept since it is unprecedented here in Tuscaloosa.

The developers seemed to be trying to keep up with concerns and had made some changes to their plans when they made their pitch Tuesday night. Still, in a Saturday morning phone call, councilman Crow said when the matter comes back up this coming Tuesday the developers are going to withdraw their request for plan approval and go back to the drawing board.

Crow said this is not necessarily the end of the concept - he expects Travel & Leisure Co. will come back before the city council and pitch an updated plan sometime in the future, but the plans as they have been presented are dead for now.

For updates on this project as it develops, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.