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Sketch by Gonzalez-Stength & Associates
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Broad Metro plans to build an amphitheater and entertainment area in the Stadium Trace Village development in Hoover, Alabama.
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Sketch by Gonzalez-Stength & Associates
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Broad Metro plans to build an amphitheater and entertainment area in the Stadium Trace Village development in Hoover, Alabama.
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Master plan courtesy of Broad Metro
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The master plan for the Village Green amphitheater and entertainment area at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, William Kadish of Broad Metro, members of the Hoover City Council and other dignitaries participate in the tossing of the dirt during the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Village Green development at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
William Kadish, founder of Broad Metro, speaks with Dennis Donnelly, with the Hoover Arts Council, and Hoover Councilman Curt Posey about the renderings during the Village Green groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Guests attend the Village Green groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
William Kadish, the founder of Broad Metro, speak about the Village Green development project during the groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Dennis Donnelly, with the Hoover Arts Council, and Hoover Councilman Curt Posey talk about the renderings during the Village Green groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks at the Village Green groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
John Chambless, with Chambless King Architects, and Robbin Gregory, with Gonzalez Strength and Associates, Inc, discuss the map of the Village Green development during the groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
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Photo by Erin Nelson
Tynette Lynch, the director of hospitality and tourism for the city of Hoover, speaks at the Village Green groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
City officials joined the developer of Stadium Trace Village in breaking ground today for a 2.4-acre Village Green amphitheater and entertainment area for the development at the entrance to Trace Crossings.
The Village Green will include a covered stage for concerts and other performing arts, a public area for 600 to 800 people, a full-service bar and food service area, places for artists and craftspeople to set up booths on special occasions and a 1,400-square-foot secure play area for children with play mounds, a crawling tunnel, slide, musical-themed playscapes and an interactive art wall, said developer Will Kadish of Broad Metro.
Kadish said the idea is to create a family-oriented arts and entertainment space where people will want to gather for events and in conjunction with shopping and eating at the numerous restaurants in Stadium Trace Village or medical appointments at the UAB medical clinic on the property.
The days of people being cooped up in an enclosed shopping mall are gone, Kadish said. People want options and want to be able to walk around, and that’s the type of environment he and his team are creating at Stadium Trace Village, he said.
Photo by Erin Nelson
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, William Kadish of Broad Metro, members of the Hoover City Council and other dignitaries participate in the tossing of the dirt during the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Village Green development at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
The Hoover City Council already has approved the creation of an official “entertainment district” at Stadium Trace Village that will allow people to carry open containers with alcoholic beverages outside bars and restaurants in a defined area. But that entertainment district won’t become active until the amphitheater and entertainment area open.
Kadish has had the amphitheater and entertainment area as part of his plan for several years. A year ago, his project manager, Jim Masingill, said they hoped to have the entertainment area completed by this past July, but there have been delays in getting to construction.
Kadish today said some people, especially during the height of the COVID-19 shutdown, doubted his team’s ability to get this project done, but the team persevered.
“It’s necessary to get things right, and there’s only one opportunity to do it right,” he said. “We’ve been very careful, and we’re moving forward constantly. We’re working to make things better, and we’re happy where we are now.”
He’s excited to be breaking ground and plans to begin grading for the Village Green area immediately, he said. The goal is to have construction completed and have a few trial events in October or November of 2023 and really gear up with more events in the spring of 2024, he said.
The Village Green will have amphitheater seating around a 10,000-square-foot public area with a synthetic lawn turf, but the total amount of open space for people will be about 21,000 square feet, Kadish said.
The covered stage area will be 40 feet by 32 feet, including 800 square feet of stage support space with a large prep room for entertainers, according to information provided by Broad Metro.
Right beside the stage and open area will be the bar, which he plans to call “The Deesh,” which was a nickname for his son, Andrew Kadish, who died at the age of 22 within the past two years.
Master plan courtesy of Broad Metro
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The master plan for the Village Green amphitheater and entertainment area at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover, Alabama.
Next to the bar will be a food service area where restaurants located in Stadium Trace Village will be able to sell and serve food during special events, Kadish said.
Making a place for visual artists also was a very important component of the Village Green, he said. He intentionally had pedestrian areas made wide enough to allow room for artists and craftspeople to set up booths to display and sell their wares, he said. The Hoover Arts Council has been an important piece of the puzzle and ally in development of the space, he said.
His company’s total investment in the Village Green now exceeds $5 million, he said.
At one point, Kadish was negotiating with Slice Pizza & Brew to occupy an adjacent 1.1-acre restaurant space, but that deal did not happen, and Kadish said he is still looking for the right restaurant to take that spot. There also is a currently vacant half-acre retail space next to the Village Green.
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said the Hoover Metropolitan Complex just down the street brings in thousands of visitors each weekend from all over the United States.
“They need a place to go and eat and enjoy their time here,” Brocato said. “Even more importantly, our citizens need a place to come and enjoy.”
Hoover does a great job of providing sports venues for its people and guests but hasn’t had enough entertainment options for people, and this will help fill that void, the mayor said.
“I know the whole community is very excited about it,” Brocato said. “I can’t wait to see the first act come to fruition pretty soon.”
Photo by Erin Nelson
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks at the Village Green groundbreaking ceremony at Stadium Trace Village in Hoover on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Tynette Lynch, the city’s director of tourism and hospitality, said a lot of the people coming to compete in sports tournaments and other events at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex bring family members with them. Those families are always looking for things to do in between games and events, and “this is going to be just what they’re looking for,” providing options for concerts, the arts and other entertainment, Lynch said.
“Our tourism numbers have just increased unbelievably,” she said. “We’ve become a small destination. People are coming for a lot of reasons, and we’re very, very excited for what’s going on in Hoover right now.”
Kadish credited Brocato for having the vision to make Stadium Trace Village what it has become. Kadish said his own initial plan was to bring a Lowe’s home improvement store and Cabela’s hunting, fishing and outdoor store to the site, but Brocato and his city planner, Mac Martin, convinced him the city needed something different there — a more walkable development with dining and entertainment options, he said.
He bought into it, and the community bought in with him, he said.
Chambless King Architects is the architect for the Village Green, and Gonzalez-Strength & Associates is the landscaping and engineering firm for the project.
