Sarah Finnegan
Freedom Fest 2017
Hoover and surrounding community members enjoy the fireworks display at Freedom Fest on July 4, 2017 at the Hoover Met.
After three years of absence, the city of Hoover is bringing back a Fourth of July fireworks celebration this year, just without the music festival that accompanied the fireworks from 2013 to 2017.
The fireworks show is scheduled to be at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium on Friday, July 2, at 9 p.m. The stadium itself will not be open, but people are invited to watch the fireworks from the upper parking lot, said Erin Colbaugh, the city’s events coordinator.
The lower parking lot at the stadium and Champions Way, the road that leads to the new baseball/softball fields at the Hoover Met Complex, will be closed because the fireworks are being shot off from that parking lot, Colbaugh said.
While there will be no music festival, patriotic music that coincides with the 15-minute fireworks show will be broadcast over 87.9 FM, she said. Pyro Shows is the company putting on the display for a cost of $20,000 to the city of Hoover, she said.
There will be no food or drink sales, but people are welcome to bring their own food, Colbaugh said.
City officials considered whether to bring back the full Freedom Fest celebration held from 2013 to 2017, including musical acts and/or a car show and other activities, but the main attraction that most people seemed to miss was the fireworks show, City Administration Allan Rice said.
Having all the musical acts and other activities bumped up the cost of Freedom Fest to $98,000 the last time it was held, and city officials felt it was a more prudent use of taxpayer dollars just to bring back the fireworks, Rice said. Attendance for the musical acts and other activities usually was pretty sparse until 45 minutes to an hour before the fireworks show, he noted. So many people were doing other things throughout the day and coming mainly for the fireworks, he said.
However, city officials will continue to listen to feedback and see how this year's event goes, Rice said.
The Hoover and Riverchase country clubs are scheduled to have fireworks shows once it gets dark on Saturday, July 3, and the Greystone Golf and Country Club is scheduled to have one on Sunday, July 4.
The Hoover Country Club grounds will be open for club members, but the fireworks show there usually is visible from certain parts of the Green Valley neighborhood as well. The Riverchase and Greystone country club celebrations will be open to members of those clubs and their respective communities, but those fireworks shows also may be visible from other locations.
