120-Acre Development Near the Hoover Met Would Draw Events and Feed the Economy
By William C. Singleton III
The proposed $70 million Hoover Sports Complex won’t be nearly as grand as the “Wide World of Sports” complex at Disney World in Orlando.
But the idea of attracting youth sporting events and teams nationwide like Disney does with its sports complex has city, parks and recreation and community sports leaders drooling at the potential tourism and economic opportunities such a facility would bring.
“We have obviously been waiting on something like this,” said Richard Bisso, Hoover Soccer Club President. “The thing we’ve seen traveling throughout the country and playing in the sports complex at the Wild World of Disney is the economic impact,” he said. “It would be outstanding to have (a sports complex) in our community where we could draw that type of impact.”
The Hoover City Council recently approved the construction of a mega-sports complex to be located on about 120 acres near the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, also called the Hoover Met. The proposed facility will include six outdoor fields for soccer, lacrosse and football, eight outdoor fields for baseball and softball, 15 tennis courts and a 140,000 square-foot events center which could be used for basketball and volleyball tournaments, trade shows, banquets, conferences and graduations.
Jeffrey Brewer, regional president of Goodwyn Mills & Cawood, architect for the proposed facility, said the indoor multipurpose complex would be “roughly the size of a football field that’s under (a) roof.”
He said because it’s a multipurpose facility, “We can do just about any sport. … Really, the only thing you can’t do football-wise is punt.”
The sports complex would also include an athletic performance center, a food court, an indoor elevated walking track, a two-mile walking track outdoors, a playground and parking for about 1,700 vehicles. With the Met parking, both facilities would have a capacity to handle 5,000 vehicles, Brewer said. An enclosed concourse would connect the sports complex to the Hoover Met, according to the proposal.
The city already owns 103 acres near the Met and would have to acquire 17 acres from the city school board, said Allen Pate, executive director for the city of Hoover.
City officials estimate an economic impact of between $27 million and $33 million annually based on figures from the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Pate said the city’s population has grown steadily through the years, which translates into more youth participating in its sports programs. Yet its sports facilities haven’t kept pace. He said that in 10 years, the city’s youth lacrosse program has gone from zero to 500 kids. In 10 years, the youth football program has gone from 200 to 1,000 players.
Pate said parks and recreation officials and community leaders have been asking for more athletic facilities, and the proposed sports complex should satisfy this need.
“Hoover hasn’t constructed a single new athletic field since 2000,” he said. “Park board (officials) and others have received requests for additional facilities. These requests have been increasing in their urgency, yet our construction lags behind. … It’s time to catch up.”
Pate also said that the city of Hoover has a year remaining in its contract with the SEC for the conference’s baseball tournament at the Hoover Met. Having a new sports complex that’s connected to the Met would make the entire SEC tournament experience more enjoyable and more profitable.
Council President Jack Wright said the city plans to borrow money to build the complex and support it through a bond issue.