University of Alabama football fans continue to drive up the demand for gameday amenities in Tuscaloosa and the surrounding areas.

The Regent Club Hotel looks to change the game day experience for Alabama fans in Tuscaloosa.

This includes restaurants, shops, apartments, condos and lodging, and one developer plans to add a five-star hotel along the Black Warrior River that has some special perks for die-hard Crimson Tide fans.

National Ventures Tuscaloosa LLC proposed the $32 million Regent Club Hotel back in the summer, a 135-room facility that will overlook both the river and the University of Alabama campus.

The Regent Club Hotel recently joined the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) corporate cabinet. Development team members spoke to cabinet members at ACRE’s 2015 retreat at Lake Martin in September.

The hotel, which joins a list of recently added and proposed lodging in Tuscaloosa, has some unique components that set it apart from other projects in the area.

For starters, Alabama fans can secure a room for the first seven years of the hotel’s life for an upfront fee that will be used as equity in the hotel. This not only gives the investor access to amenities like water taxi and shuttle services on gameday, an in-house restaurant and lounge, a fitness center, a pool and free valet parking, it will also give the investor partial ownership in the hotel, even if the investor does not re-up for another seven years after the initial period.

We recently caught up with Regent Club Hotel developer Bob Schwartz to find out a little more about the hotel, investment opportunities and whether there’s a plan to take the concept to another major football market in Alabama.

Learn more about the Regent Club Hotel by visiting the website.

Q: You guys have worked on some big hotel projects in Alabama, including the Westin in Birmingham. What made you want to build a five-star hotel on the Black Warrior River in Tuscaloosa?

Schwartz: “The fact that Alabama football fans and supporters attend most major games from season to season creates a situation where we can offer them a very unique investment, which includes the use of a specified suite for all home games for seven years. By collecting their contributions in advance, we are able to utilize this for equity in the hotel, thus resulting in a 45/50 percent equity-to-debt ratio, which allows us to be profitable at an average daily rate, which would be most competitive with local limited-service hotels. The site selection was the result of not wanting to be in the middle of town but, rather, having a location that is lovely, peaceful and fits our five-star image.”

Q: What will Regent guests enjoy that they cannot get at other hotels in the area?

Schwartz: “Besides being a full-service hotel with 24-hour room service, pre-registration, complete bell service, valet parking and the kind of personal attentiveness that a five-star hotel offers, we offer a free shuttle service to the stadium on gamedays, a lovely spa with massage rooms, golf and other such amenities. In addition, whenever an investor decides not to attend a specific game and provides us with one week’s notice, we will use our best efforts to rent the suite and rebate 75 percent of what we charge.”

Q: Those who reserve rooms for 2017-2024 will be more than just guests at the hotel. Explain how this investment works.

Schwartz: “The investors will be owners of the hotel so long as the hotel is in business. From this, they will receive proportionate shares of distributable profits, tax benefits and, as an added perk, they will have the use of the suite they select for all of the home games for seven years. Although this usage expires after the seven-year period, they have the right to extend for another seven years at a special discount rate. Meanwhile, again, their hotel ownership remains intact for the life of the hotel.”

Q: You guys have mentioned the possibility of replicating this project in another huge Alabama football market – Auburn. Can War Eagle fans expect an announcement before the 2016 football season?

Schwartz: “It is our intent to build the second Regent Club Hotel in Auburn and we would hope to make a formal announcement shortly after breaking ground in Tuscaloosa.”

Q: If someone wanted to secure a suite, how would they go about doing so?

Schwartz: “They would contact any one of the four numbers advertised and one of our associates will guide them through the process. It’s not very complicated.”

Bryan Davis is the Research/Media Coordinator for the Alabama Center for Real Estate housed within the Culverhouse College of Commerce at the University of Alabama. He can be reached at 205-348-5416 or at bkdavis@culverhouse.ua.edu.

The Alabama Center for Real Estate’s core purpose is to advance the real estate industry in Alabama by providing relevant resources in the areas of research, education and outreach.