5-field baseball, softball complex coming to Hoover

The five-field baseball and softball complex under construction next to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium is on schedule, city officials said.

The natural turf field that is to be a mirror image of the field at the stadium is on target to be completed in time for the 2018 SEC Baseball Tournament, scheduled for May 22-27, said Tim Westhoven, the city’s chief operations officer.

The city promised to have the extra field ready in time for this year’s SEC tournament as part of its agreement to keep the tournament in Hoover through at least 2019 and perhaps through 2021.

As of mid-January, noticeable progress had been made on construction. Grading for the field was complete, and workers already had the backstop netting poles in place, slab poured for the press box, and dugouts under construction. Still to come were the light poles, fencing and concession stand.

The turf for the natural turf field should be completely installed by mid-April, giving it time to settle in before the SEC tournament, said Spencer Norrell, an assistant project manager with the Brasfield & Gorrie construction company building the complex.

The natural turf field, situated the same direction as the field at the Hoover Met stadium, is to be used for practice by SEC teams during the tournament and could be used for a makeup game if needed because of a weather delay, city officials have said.

Brasfield & Gorrie also will have an access road leading from Stadium Trace Parkway to the baseball and softball complex and oneof two parking lots next to the complex paved in time for the SEC tournament, Westhoven said. 

The remainder of the access road, which will lead to Hoover High School, will be gravel at that time but should be fully completed by mid-September, he said.

The four artificial turf baseball and softball fields, which also will be sized to meet NCAA standards for baseball, are slated to be completed by Aug. 4, Norrell said.

Mass excavation has started for the rest of the outdoor sports complex, which will include five NCAA-size soccer/lacrosse/football fields, a 16-court tennis complex with a pro shop, splash pad, playground and more parking lots to the south of the Hoover RV Park.

All of that portion of the complex is scheduled for completion in early January 2019,Norrell said.

Meanwhile, the Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood architectural and engineering firm has been reviewing plans for the $333,207 indoor climbing wall at the Finley Center. That feature originally was expected to be open in March, but now the goal is May or June, said Monty Jones, general manager for the Hoover Metropolitan Complex. 

Erin Colbaugh, the city’s events coordinator, said city officials are making a strong push to get the climbing wall completed in time for the SEC Baseball Tournament.

As of mid-January, the city also was still in the final stages of contract negotiations with the Alabama Sports Foundation, which plans to open a sports performance, training, rehab and education facility in more than 7,000 square feet of space in the Finley Center.