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When the Double-A Barons moved back to downtown Birmingham, Alabama, in 2012, the fate of Hoover Met Stadium could have gone in two directions.
It could become a White Elephant, a term for venues that sit idly and fall into disrepair. Or the park could become the lynchpin in a citywide redevelopment in the suburb of Hoover.
Despite losing the team Michael Jordan played for during his mid-1990s hiatus from the NBA, Hoover doubled down on sports. New fields and an indoor complex were built to attract youth teams, as was a tennis center. The RV park is a destination unto itself.
All told, the 150-acre Hoover Met Complex, which generated $91.3 million in economic impact in 2024, stands as a testament to civic leaders believing in their vision and finding opportunities when misfortune could have beset the community.
The Barons returning to their namesake city was “a blessing for Birmingham and for our city,” says Hoover Mayor Frank V. Brocato. “It completely revitalized the southside of Birmingham, which needed it, and it opened the door for us to think about what would be the next step.”
Image Credit: SFC
For all of the additions to Hoover, which include the walkable mixed-use development known as Stadium Trace, one mainstay during this transformation looms large.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) Baseball Tournament has been played in Hoover since 1999. In 2024, it attracted a record 180,000 attendees and brought in $26 million of economic impact through hotel stays, restaurant dining, and local shopping.
With an expanded field of 16 teams, including SEC newcomers Texas and Oklahoma, the 2025 tournament will almost surely set a new record when final calculations are made.
An annual event so prestigious that it featured the top two picks in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft—including Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace among the sport’s top stars already—demands a venue to match its standing.
No one understands that more than Hoover Met Complex General Manager Shannon Ealy, who ran the SEC Tournament for 11 years. Ealy works diligently to maintain the trust of the current tournament organizers. That includes meeting annually with conference officials to determine strategies for enhancing the experience for spectators and players, and overseeing a $25 million renovation that the city poured into Hoover Met Stadium.
Among the highlights are:
“Teams will have no idea they are playing in a venue built in 1988,” says Ealy.
Mayor Brocato adds that the tournament is such a powerful draw that crowd levels don’t drop if the two in-state schools are eliminated. “One of the biggest selling points for the SEC is that it’s successful when Alabama and Auburn are not here,” he says. “We still set records.”
Stadium Trace’s amenities, new development activity, the regular dialogue with the SEC team, and upgraded fields have paid off in the form of a four-year contract extension that will keep the tournament in Hoover through at least 2028 with an option to go into 2030. With states like Texas—which has access to world-class facilities in the Dallas and Houston Areas—also competing to host the SEC tournament, the new contract is no small feat.
Image Credit: SFC
Even with the heavy investment in the baseball stadium, the City of Hoover has also kept its eye on the ball in the youth sports tourism industry.
With indoor and outdoor playing surfaces, ample parking, and a walkable entertainment and shopping district, Hoover Met Complex can justifiably be described as one of the Southeast’s premier sports complexes.
The 2025 calendar includes:
The big catch on the youth sports side is Perfect Game, one of the industry’s leading organizers of baseball and softball tournaments. According to Ealy, it puts on roughly 30 events per year at HMC, equating to more than $20 million in economic impact.
“With the ease of getting here and our offerings, we are starting to become a destination,” says Ealy.
The impact goes beyond heads in beds and restaurant bills. The steady stream of business allows Hoover to employ full-time staff members and maintain a part-time workforce of approximately 170 people.
The Hoover Met effect has convinced even the biggest skeptics of the $80 million project that was first conceived before Brocato took office in 2016.
“We had to make sure it was successful,” the mayor says. “And we did.”
Momentum continues as word of Hoover reaches vast audiences. It hosted The World Games 2022, an international competition that exposed the Birmingham area to a global contingent. In Summer 2025, the World Police and Fire Games, featuring first responders competing in more than 60 sports, will have events at the complex.
Also important to the administration is that Hoover Met is utilized by local teams and organizations. In 2024, 74,384 residents utilized the various facilities within the complex.
Meanwhile, the RV Park regularly has at least half-occupancy, Ealy says, as campers spend the night there to rest and sports fans tailgate during events. The park adds between $1 million and $2 million to the region’s economy by itself, says Ealy.
Image credit: city of Hoover, AL
Hoover is a city on the rise.
Increased housing opportunities are attracting both younger families and individuals over 50 years old. No matter the age, its citizens can enjoy the new restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, and more at Stadium Trace and elsewhere in Hoover.
Six new hotels are under construction, which will not only serve the sports tournaments but will also be advantageous for businesses based in Hoover looking to bring in employees for training, team gatherings, and other events.
Regions Bank, a Fortune 500 company, employs about 1,000 people in the Hoover area, according to Greg Knighton, Hoover’s Economic Development manager. Other notable large employers include Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Alabama, McLeod Software, BioHorizons, BMSS, and BioLife.
Also notable is the presence of the National Computer Forensics Institute, a federally funded training center dedicated to training, educating, and equipping state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges on cyber and electronic crimes and related threats. The 40,000 sq. ft. facility includes four multi-purpose classrooms, two network intrusion classrooms, a mock courtroom, and administrative work areas, and is ideal for large gatherings for out-of-town staff.
Brimming with confidence, Knighton and his team attend trade shows to attract STEM-based companies to open offices and set up headquarters in the city. Knighton says the Hoover Met Complex and the related development are integral to the success.
“It’s not uncommon for me to run into people who are familiar with us because of our sports identity,” Knighton says. “It really does help us with our overall marketing.”
Knighton adds that his college-age children have trouble recognizing Hoover because of its growth and development, particularly around Stadium Trace.
“You’ve seen a whole community pop up because of the walkable nature of what’s going on,” he says. “Youth sports in Hoover has become a community within itself.”
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