Hoover council OKs using Hoover Met for 2022 World Games softball

The Hoover City Council on Tuesday authorized Mayor Frank Brocato to enter into an agreement to bring the softball portion of the 2022 World Games to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

The softball competition, to be held July 8-13 of next year, is expected to be the most attended event in the World Games, other than the opening and closing ceremonies, 2022 World Games CEO Nick Sellers said. It should draw up to 100,000 people over five days, while the total attendance for all games is expected to be in excess of 500,000, Sellers said.

“It should include the same U.S. softball team that will play in the Olympic games,” Sellers said. “Also, Japan, which is consistently ranked as one of the top two teams in the world, should be here.”

Hoover officials last year said it would cost the city about $165,000 to make the softball event a reality. Converting the playing surface at the Hoover Met for softball games and then back for baseball purposes is expected to cost a little more than $100,000, and overtime of city staff likely will cost $50,000 to $55,000, Hoover Events Coordinator Erin Colbaugh said last year when the idea was first presented to the City Council.

The agreement between the World Games and the city of Hoover calls for the city to provide the stadium at no cost, to convert the playing field for softball games and to provide personnel, including a grounds crew, scoreboard operator, janitorial and building maintenance staff, food and beverage vendors, police and fire services, stadium operations staff, facility managers and public works personnel.

The city also will provide three complimentary hospitality suites, two media work areas to accommodate at least 150 media members in each and an interview room for at least 60 people. The city also will help manage traffic flow to and from the stadium.

The city will not get revenue from ticket sales but will get all revenue from food and beverage sales, according to the agreement.

City Council President John Lyda said Tuesday the city is honored to be considered as one of the venues for the 2022 World Games.

The expenses the city will incur in connection with the World Games will be outweighed by the economic benefit to the city as a whole, Lyda said. The World Games are expected to create a $14.2 million economic boost to the city of Hoover, including $8.1 million in direct spending in the city, he said.

Gene Hallman, president and CEO of the Bruno Event Team, which is working with the World Games said the economic impact of the World Games softball in Hoover would be roughly equivalent to an SEC Baseball Tournament.

“That certainly will have a big economic boost for the community," Hallman said last year. "I think your investment would have a positive return on investment just from a dollar standpoint.”

The 2022 World Games will be televised worldwide, Sellers said. More than 100 million people watched the games on TV three years ago when they were held in Poland, he said. Also, organizers expect an estimated 1,500 credentialed media.

If the Olympic softball teams for the United States and Japan end up in a final together, the game should be a sellout and once again put Hoover on the national stage, Lyda said.

Plus, Hoover’s participation as a venue for the World Games is a chance for the city to demonstrate real regional cooperation, he said.

The total cost to put on the games is $55 million, including providing housing for all the athletes while they are in town, Hallman said.

The city of Birmingham and state of Alabama each are putting up $3.5 million in cash, and Jefferson County is contributing $2.5 million in cash. The University of Alabama at Birmingham also is contributing $2 million.

Birmingham is providing some of its venues — Legion Field, Sloss Furnaces, Boutwell Auditorium, Avondale Park and Bessie Estelle Park — at no cost, while the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and Protective Stadium are being provided at reduced rates. The state is providing Oak Mountain State Park at no cost.

“It’s just good neighborly sense to participate,” Lyda said.

The entire World Games will take place over 11 days (July 7-17) and is expected to draw more than 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries, competing in 34 sports.

The sports include traditional competitions such as softball, archery and martial arts and newer sports like drone racing and canopy piloting.

Legion Field will host flag football, while the Birmingham Crossplex will be the site for inline hockey, artistic roller skating, speed skating (indoor and outdoor), wheelchair rugby, lifesaving, fin swimming and canoe polo. Boutwell Auditorium will feature sumo, kickboxing and Muay Thai (sometimes referred to as Thai boxing).

The 2022 World Games are expected to generate an overall economic impact of $256 million for the state of Alabama, organizers said.

For more information about the 2022 World Games, go to twg2022.com.