SEC pleased with 2017 baseball tournament, new amenities at Hoover Met

Southeastern Conference officials say they were pleased with the results of this year’s SEC Baseball Tournament, including new amenities added at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.

The new FanFest entertainment area at the 155,000-square-foot Finley Center was a tremendous addition to the tournament, said Herb Vincent, the SEC’s associate commissioner for communications who also oversees baseball.

The new facility itself is awesome, and the activities were a great supplement to the baseball games in the stadium, Vincent said.

The FanFest zone included a ferris wheel, zipline, nine-hole carpet golf course, golf simulators, driving simulators, classic arcade games, inflatables, virtual reality simulator, a Lego construction zone, photo booth and a food court with a variety of food and beverages.

There also was a sports bar with live entertainment, electronic darts, ping pong, skeeball, foosball, pool tables, air hockey, shuffleboard, basketball games, corn hole and oversized Connect 4 games.

LSU fans Will and Christy Wall brought their two sons, ages 12 and 8, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and said they were surprised to see a huge, new facility next to the stadium this year when they were just here a year ago.

Their sons said they enjoyed the skeeball, pool, basketball and inflatable slide, and the Walls said they love the family-friendly atmosphere.

Other parents commented that the FanFest zone provided a good opportunity for their children to do something in addition to watching the baseball games, and making the tournament an overall enjoyable experience helps build a fan base for the future, Vincent said.

“I think it’s really going to pay off for all of us down the road,” he said.

That was one of the things the SEC was seeking when it evaluated bids from Hoover and competing facilities in other cities across the Southeast last year, Vincent said. The city of Hoover and Alabama Sports Council formed a great team to make that a reality, he said.

Vincent said he heard great things from coaches and baseball players about this year’s tournament.

The city of Hoover this year added a lounge where players could relax in air conditioning while they waited for their games to start, and some of the players came into the FanFest zone and played games while they waited, City Administrator Allan Rice said.

“We heard nothing but comments about it (the FanFest zone)” Rice said. “It really did take the tournament to the next level.”

SEC officials also were pleased with attendance, especially given rainy weather that caused delays early in the week. Overall attendance was estimated at 127,479 people, which is the fifth largest attendance ever at an SEC Baseball Tournament.

That’s really good, considering Alabama — a typical big draw — didn’t make the tournament this year and Auburn — another fan favorite in this state — was eliminated by the third day of the six-day tournament, said Gene Hallman, president and CEO of the Alabama Sports Council.

The championship game between LSU and Arkansas drew 13,128 people, which is the sixth largest crowd for a session at the SEC Baseball Tournament ever, conference statistics show.

The teams from those two schools came from six or seven hours away, Hallman said. Seventy-five percent of advance ticket sales for this year’s tournament came from outside Alabama, he said.

“It’s astounding. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like that,” he said. “All in all, it was a big success.”

LSU fans Walt and Carol Cleighton have been coming to the SEC Baseball Tournament from Slidell, La., just outside New Orleans, for about five years. Walt Cleighton said they love coming to Hoover in their RV.

“Everybody here is terrific,” he said. “They go all out. You can’t beat Hoover. I think they do a great job. We have written letters to the SEC and told ‘em don’t move it (the tournament).”

New Orleans and Jacksonville have nice ballparks but no RV hookups, and Memphis doesn’t have enough parking near the stadium, Cleighton said.

Hoover this year relocated part of its RV Park due to construction of the Finley Center and expanded from 149 to 170 RV spaces.

Cary Hill, an Alabama fan from Gulf Shores who has been coming to the SEC Tournament since it first came to Hoover, said the new spaces at the RV Park are roomy and provide plenty of parking for cars and visitors. However, he’s not happy that he had to pay $100 extra to guarantee he’d get the same spot next year. He’s never been charged a fee like that before, he said.

Rice said that change was needed, with 154 people on the RV Park waiting list this year for the SEC Tournament dates. “There’s a lot of competition for those spaces,” he said. “Overall, our fees are pretty low, compared to other sports venues.”

James Lear, a Mississippi State fan who said this was his third year at the SEC Baseball Tournament, said he has been extremely impressed with every aspect of the tournament at Hoover. And he was amazed that the Finley Center was completed in a year in time for this year’s tournament.

“Whether we win, lose or draw, we will stay for the SEC championship game,” Lear said. “But if they’re not in Hoover, we’re not going.”

The atmosphere and hospitality in Hoover are great, and the stadium is conveniently located near hotels, shopping and other amenities, he said.

“The people of Hoover and the committee of Hoover have gone above and beyond and exceeded our expectations and everything we ever dreamed of in the SEC experience,” Lear said. “We have traveled a lot. We have gone to other ballparks, and no one as a city has welcomed us like Hoover.”

Vincent said Hoover has indeed embraced the tournament and created a fan experience much like people get when they go to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

It gives the SEC student-athletes a memorable experience but also prepares them for the rest of post-season play, he said.

The Alabama Sports Council has two years left on its contract with the SEC to keep the tournament in Hoover. Hallman said the decision on whether to grant a two-year extension won’t come until after next year’s tournament, but he’s confident the extension will come.

“There is not the first whisper of ever taking this out of Hoover,” he said.