Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Groups of people play pickleball at the new pickleball courts at Veterans Park in Hoover on Thursday, June 13, 2024. Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
The city of Hoover has taken another step closer to getting 24 new outdoor pickleball courts at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
State Rep. David Faulkner announced at Monday night’s Hoover City Council meeting that for the second year in a row, stage legislators put $500,000 into the state’s budget for upgrades at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
According to Faulkner, the goal is for that money to be used to help build a new outdoor pickleball complex at the Met that will be big enough to bring in a big national tournament.
“That sport is growing all over the country,” Faulkner said. “There’s a real opportunity here for Hoover to bring in a national pickleball tournament, and the economic impact from that would be enormous.”
This latest allocation brings the total available for a covered outdoor pickleball complex at the Met Complex to $1.3 million, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said. Hoover also received $300,000 from the Jefferson County Commission for the project, Brocato said.
But the desired pickleball complex is still “a work in progress,” Brocato said. The estimated cost of the complex is $3.5 million, City Administrator Ken Grimes said.
Brocato said he would like to find more money for the complex in the city’s fiscal 2025 budget, but that’s still undetermined as city officials develop the 2025 budget. The Hoover Parks and Recreation Department still has other desired projects that need addressing as well, Grimes said.
The city just opened eight outdoor lighted pickleball courts at Veterans Park as part of a joint project with Shelby County at the end of April, and they appear to be quite popular, Grimes said.
The 83,000-square-foot Finley Center at the Hoover Met Complex can be divided into 21 indoor pickleball courts, but Hoover is interested in having dedicated outdoor courts there as well.
Faulkner also shared that the Legislature allocated $1 million to help with costs for the SEC Baseball Tournament because the tournament brings in so many visitors each year and has such a large economic impact.
“That’s fantastic for the state of Alabama,” Faulkner said. “Let’s keep the SEC Tournament here in Hoover for years — forever.”
State Rep. Leigh Hulsey also was at the Hoover City Council meeting Monday night and delivered $10,000 from her legislative discretionary fund to the city of Hoover, to be split evenly between the Hoover Police Department and Hoover Fire Department.
State Rep. Mike Shaw and state Sen. April Weaver also were present to discuss the Legislature’s passage of a law to strengthen penalties against false reporting of crimes and to provide for restitution to law enforcement agencies that expend resources on investigating false reports.
The bill, sponsored in the House by Shaw and in the Senate by Weaver, was filed in response to a false police report by Hoover resident Carlee Russell, who falsely claimed she was kidnapped on the side of Interstate 459 and held against her will for two days in July of last year.
In other business Monday night, the Hoover City Council:
- Amended the city’s 2024 budget to add $500,000 to cover extra legal bills associated with the city’s effort to get a certificate of need for an ambulatory surgery and diagnostics center in Riverchase. The legal bill for that effort has escalated after South Haven Health & Rehabilitation CEO Loree Skelton contested the application with the State Health Planning and Development Agency. Councilman Steve McClinton voted against the budget amendment, saying he could not in good conscience spend more taxpayer money on legal fees that already have skyrocketed. While he wants the city to obtain the certificate of need, he didn't believe enough information about the legal bills was provided to make an informed decision, he said.
- Reappointed Kyle Puchta, Rohen Por and Larry Ingram to the Hoover Board of Zoning Adjustment, each for three more years, with terms ending May 31, 2027.
- Hired Onsite Metered Concrete to provide concrete for the city at a cost not to exceed $110,180.
- Agreed to have high grass and weeds cut at 425 Shades Ave. and 2874 Wisteria Drive and to put liens on the properties to pay for the work and declared property at 1691 and 1697 Montgomery Highway as a public nuisance due to similar high weeds and/or grass.
See the complete video of Monday night's Hoover City Council meeting on The Hoover Channel's YouTube page.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 11:39 p.m. with a comment from Councilman Steve McClinton.
