Hoover lands extension of SEC Baseball Tournament til at least 2028

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The Southeastern Conference has a proposed agreement with the city of Hoover that would extend the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium for at least four more years through 2028, Parks and Recreation Director Erin Colbaugh told the Hoover City Council on Thursday night.

The proposed agreement also provides for two additional one-year options for the tournament to continue in Hoover in 2029 and 2030, Colbaugh said.

Part of the agreement calls for Hoover to make certain improvements to the stadium in time for the next tournament in May 2025, she said.

The actual agreement to be voted on by the Hoover City Council Monday was not made available Thursday.

However, City Administrator Ken Grimes and Colbaugh in May indicated the city has $11 million worth of improvements slated to be made in the third phase of renovations at the Met.

The third phase will include a redesign and repaving of a large portion of the parking lot that extends over to the Finley Center and a variety of improvements inside the stadium, Grimes said then.

Those interior improvements will include a 4,250-square-foot club suite addition down the third base side on the concourse level, with glass doors that open up to a new chairback seating section, Colbaugh said. Another planned improvement is a new two-tier outfield patio on the first base side of the field between the scoreboard and bullpen, Grimes said.

Additionally, the chairback seating in the lower bowl of the stadium will be replaced with new chairback seating, and six sections of aluminum bleachers on the second level will be replaced with chairback seating, Colbaugh said. The remaining aluminum bleachers will get new backs put on them, she said.

The third phase of renovations also will include a new entrance from the lower parking lot on the third base side of the field and a total renovation of the concourse area, including new flooring and light fixtures to give the stadium a more modern look, Grimes said.

The first phase of renovations, done prior to the 2023 tournament, included a $3 million upgrade of both locker rooms.

The second phase, costing $11 million and done prior to the 2024 tournament, included a redesign and repaving of the portion of the parking lot directly in front of the stadium and down the third base side and added new lights and islands in the parking lot, as well as a new entryway to the stadium itself.

The roof on the stadium also was repainted a royal blue color, and the media room, which most people don’t see, was renovated with better lighting and technology for cameras and microphones, Grimes said.

Once the third phase is completed, the total price tag on renovations over the three years will be about $25 million, Grimes said in May.

Allen Pate, who led construction of the Hoover Met in the late 1980s and served as the city’s executive director for more than two decades until retiring in 2017, helped negotiate the contract extension on behalf of the city.

Pate said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey already has signed the proposed agreement, and the Hoover City Council is slated to vote on it Monday. The Hoover Parks and Recreation Board, which officially owns the stadium, is scheduled to vote on the agreement Tuesday, Pate said. A press conference to discuss it is planned for 9 a.m.Thursday at the stadium.

The SEC Baseball Tournament has been held in Hoover for 27 years. While numerous efforts have been made to move it elsewhere, SEC officials have said they have been impressed with the quality tournament Hoover has been able to deliver over the years and the commitment the city has to continue making it better.

The 2024 tournament had a record attendance of 180,004 people over six days, SEC officials said. The previous record attendance was in 2023 with 171,288 people. The championship game this year drew 15,686 people, the second most attended SEC tournament game ever. The average attendance per game for the week was a record 10,588 people, according to the SEC.

The 2024 tournament was the final year with a 12-team tournament format. The 2025 tournament will move to a 16-team single-elimination tournament.