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Nick and Terry Saban Donate $1 Million to Creation of Children's Center

Saban Family, Nick's Kids Foundation lead project to turn Tuscaloosa News building into The Saban Center
Christopher Walsh|
Nick and Terry Saban Donate $1 Million to Creation of Children's Center
Nick and Terry Saban Donate $1 Million to Creation of Children's Center

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — They got out the really big checks on Friday, the kind you only see at a golf tournament or during a prize giveaway. 

Friday afternoon, as part of the City of Tuscaloosa's 200th birthday celebration, Nick and Terry Saban were on hand to announce a $1 million gift, plus a $250,000 donation from the Nick's Kids Foundation, to a massive project that will be named "The Saban Center."

The building currently serving as the home to the Tuscaloosa News, which was recently purchased by the city, will become a new state-of-the-art learning center. It will include the Tuscaloosa Public Library, the Children's Hands-On Museum and the Tuscaloosa Children's Theater. 

The property will include an outdoor park as well, across Jack Warner Parkway between the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater and the Hotel Indigo. 

"Terry and I could not be happier to partner with Mayor Maddox and the city of Tuscaloosa in the building and development of the multifaceted learning center which will present and encourage cutting-edge knowledge and research in STEM as well as the arts," Saban said in a release. "Children and adults alike will benefit from this incredible facility with many different ways of displaying knowledge including hands on experiences. This project fits our strong commitment to education as an end in itself as well as a door to open opportunities for all."

The overall cost of the project has yet to be determined, and The Saban Center is expected to take years to complete.

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Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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