Met Gain: Hoover Met Complex scores $68 million economic impact for 2021

The Hoover Metropolitan Complex continued its strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic for fiscal 2021 with a $68 million economic impact on the Birmingham-Hoover region for the year, a representative for the management company said.

The complex, which is owned by the city but managed by a private company, continued to exceed expectations in the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, said John Sparks, the executive who oversees about half a dozen complexes for Sports Facilities Management.

Before the complex was expanded to include the Finley Center indoor space, 10 outdoor sports fields, tennis complex, playground and splash pad, the management company predicted a $31.8 million direct economic impact in the fourth year of operation (which turned out to be fiscal 2021).

But the complex ended up with an estimated $56.7 million direct economic impact in 2021, which mostly reflects spending on hotels in the region, according to numbers verified by the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The number of estimated hotel room stays generated by the complex fell from 62,195 in fiscal 2019 to 45,331 in fiscal 2020, but rose to 86,324 in fiscal 2021.

With more than $11 million in an additional indirect economic impact from spending on food, gas and other incidentals, the total estimated economic impact for fiscal 2021 was $68.1 million. That compares to $35.7 million in fiscal 2020 (which included three months of full or partial shutdown due to COVID-19) and $49 million in fiscal 2019.

The Hoover Met Complex was originally expected to lose money in its operating budget for at least five years after the expansion, but the operating budget ended in the black in fiscal 2021 — two years ahead of schedule.

The original projection five years ago was to lose $264,000 in the operating budget in 2021. With things looking up after a strong end to 2020, managers predicted a small net profit of $14,410 in 2021, but the end result was positive of $350,000, Sparks said.

The complex doesn’t actually have an operating profit, however, because the city still puts out about $3.2 million a year to help pay for operations, in addition to $2.8 million in annual debt payments.

That said, “we’re significantly better than we anticipated being, and we’re just going to keep driving that number in a positive direction,” Sparks said.

Attendance

The cancellation of 59 events during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 meant that overall attendance for the Hoover Met Complex declined from 182,000 in fiscal 2019 to 129,000 in fiscal 2020, but it shot back up to over 176,000 in 2021.

That included about 94,000 for baseball and softball events, 60,000 for basketball events, 35,000 for soccer events, 26,000 for volleyball events, 19,000 for trade shows, 9,400 for mat sports, 6,600 for lacrosse events, 5,700 for school and school athletic        functions, 3,800 for other outdoor sports and 1,700 for other indoor sports.

Those event attendance numbers were achieved despite a two-month shutdown of the Finley Center from Nov. 16, 2020, to Jan. 20, 2021, for installation of a new gym floor.

Most of the athletic tournaments and events, such as the East Coast Pro Showcase and Perfect Game baseball tournaments, have returned and continue to book the space for future events, Sparks said. “They’re with us, and they love us, and we love them,” he said.

But corporate events did not bounce back as strongly in 2021, Sparks said. “Those people just haven’t rebounded yet,” he said.

That said, bookings for 2022 are looking good, Sparks said.

Piggly Wiggly, which canceled its food shows during the COVID-19 pandemic, has two shows scheduled at the Finley Center in fiscal 2022, and Alabama Power, which stalled its corporate meetings at the Finley Center for 18 months, is coming back, he said. The Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders also is bringing its home show back.

Bookings at the Finley Center are so strong that “we have more demand than we have supply,” Sparks said.

Community use

Community use of the complex also is going well, with only a 1% decline from 259,000 local users to 256,000, Sparks said. Again, the main floor of the Finley Center was shut down for two months.

The number of local sports participants exceeded 168,000, including repeat visits, Sparks said. That includes about 31,600 participants from park league flag football, 25,000 through the Hoover Soccer Club, 23,000 from lacrosse, 15,000 from Alabama Performance Volleyball, 10,800 for baseball practices, 8,600 from the Birmingham United Soccer Association, 8,000 from J. Smith Hoops, 7,800 with Hoover High School baseball, 4,000 from the Hoover Competitive Basketball Club, 1,900 from park league basketball and 1,400 from park league volleyball, according to information provided by Sparks.

Flag football started several years ago with 40 to 50 teams and now is up to 75 teams, including 48 outside the Birmingham metro area, Sparks said.

Pickleball also is on the rise, with 2,134 participants in 2021, he said. The Finley Center started out setting up four pickleball courts and expanded to six and then nine courts and is about to expand to 12 courts, he said.

“I get there about 5:45 to 6 a.m. every day, and they’re waiting at the door,” Sparks said.

The number of participants at tennis events has grown from about 2,000 in fiscal 2019 to more than 9,000 in fiscal 2020 and 16,477 in fiscal 2021, Sparks said.

Also, seven of the eight weeks of summer camps at the Hoover Met Complex sold out last year, with 648 participants in all, Sparks said. The eighth week likely would have sold out but was canceled due to COVID.

The field and facility space provided for community use (park and recreation leagues, schools and city programs) would have been valued at $370,000 if the space had been rented, Sparks said.

Councilman Mike Shaw said the trick has always been balancing between providing public use for Hoover residents and having revenue-generating events, and he thinks Sports Facilities Management has done a great job of doing that.

Councilman John Lyda said the Hoover Met Complex and sports tourism is what kept the economic engine running for Hoover hotels and restaurants during the COVID-19 shutdown period.

“Youth sports are recession- and pandemic-proof,” Lyda said. “We are going to continue to invest in our children through youth sports.”