Map by Dewberry Engineering
This map shows the major electrical lines running through Hoover Sports Park East off Old Rocky Ridge Road.
The Hoover City Council on Monday night approved another $500,000 to fix an electrical problem at Hoover Sports Park East, but the final cost will be much higher, city officials said.
It likely will cost $4.3 million to $5.8 million in total because the entire electrical system at the park needs replacing, said Mindy Wyatt, a strategic analyst for the city who is coordinating the project.
The first electrical problem at the park was reported in the spring of 2024 when someone saw an electrical arc shooting from one fence post to another, said Alfred Maiola III, an electrical engineer with Dewberry Engineering.
A second incident was reported early this year, which prompted officials to shut down electricity to the park and hire Dewberry Engineering to investigate. But Dewberry found that the electrical problems were pervasive throughout the park, Maiola said. Damaged cables were pushing electrical currents onto the fences in multiple areas, causing a safety hazard, he said.
“Any amount of voltage is enough to be concerned about when we’re talking about from the fence to the ground,” Maiola said.
A majority of electrical cables throughout the ballpark failed tests, he said. What caused the cables to become damaged is unclear, he said. It could have been lightning, rodents or simply age, he said.
City Administrator Ken Grimes estimated the park off Old Rocky Ridge Road is more than 30 years old.
With no electricity at the park, there are no lights, and the concession stands are inoperable, Grimes said. Activities have been limited to daytime hours or moved to city fields next to Spain Park High School or the Hoover Metropolitan Complex, he said.
The Hoover City Council in August approved a budget amendment for $350,000 to pay for work already done to identify the problems and on Monday night approved another $500,000 to tackle the first phase of replacing the electrical system.
That first phase will include $250,000 to buy hub transformers from Southern Co, $100,000 to route that power to the concession stands, restrooms and maintenance facilty, $85,000 for electrical engineering design and $65,000 for project management by electrical engineers. All of that should take about 22 weeks, Wyatt said.
The second phase of the project will be to replace all the field lights on the baseball and softball fields and football/soccer/lacrosse fields. That is expected to cost between $3.5 million to $5 million and may not be completed until August 2026, Wyatt said.
That means the teams that practice and play there will continue to have to operate during the daytime hours or be moved to other fields, Grimes said.
City officials said they will do everything they can to speed the process along. “We do understand time is of the essence,” Wyatt said. But safety is the No. 1 priority, she said.
The Hoover City Council also on Monday:
- Approved spending $438,200 to replace the roof at the Hoover Recreation Center
- Amended the 2025 budget to allow for an extra $350,000 in expenditures for vehicle repairs and fuel and $225,000 more in expenses at the Hoover Met Complex. Thankfully, the Met Complex is having a record year and already has taken in almost $500,000 more in revenues than expected this fiscal year, General Manager Shannon Ealy said.
- Approved a contract for about $20,000 with ClasTran for that agency to provide transportation services for elderly and disabled people in the city a contract with Meals on Wheels of Central Alabama for about $10,000.
