The Hoover Metropolitan Complex, a classic case of “if you build it, they will come,” has moved toward ever-greater success and versatility since getting its start with a $14.5 million stadium opened in 1988. The stadium was built by the city of Hoover to host the Birmingham Barons professional baseball team and then in 1998 became home to the SEC Baseball Tournament, which it still hosts.
The Barons moved on, leaving the stadium without one of its biggest draws, but now the site draws more sports activity than even the proudest proponents ever envisioned.
The Hoover Met’s most recent victories, of which there are many, are in no small part due to $105 million in additional investments by the city over the past decade to create an innovative 150-acre complex of modern, multipurpose facilities. The thriving sports, entertainment and meeting destination now draws more than 770,000 visitors each year, providing a $91.3 million annual economic impact.
Since 2022, the complex has generated more than $1 million each year in operating profit, including $1.3 million for fiscal 2025, says General Manager Shannon Ealy of Sports Facilities Companies (SFC), the company that manages the Met. “That’s unusual because typically city-funded sports venues operate at a loss. The Met is considered a model development.”
The city hired SFC, which now manages 90 facilities across the country, in July of 2016 to oversee development, marketing and management of the Met’s $80 million expansion as part of the city’s efforts to keep the SEC Baseball Tournament following the Barons return to Birmingham in 2012.
“The investment was controversial at the time but clearly has paid off in so many ways for the community,” Ealy says. “This has been our best year ever in terms of attendance and revenues.”
The Met routinely features a wide variety of both adult and youth athletic tournaments and games as well as offering fitness, recreation, conference and event options. Nestled in a tree-lined commercial, residential and multi-use section of Hoover easily accessed off Highway 459, the Hoover Met area boasts a plethora of restaurants, entertainment and shopping, much within walking distance of the complex.
Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis, who took office in November and served as chief of police for the 20 years prior, says the complex serves multiple roles for the city: premier amenity for residents, one of the largest sports complexes in the state, and a national and regional sports destination.
“The Met provides world-class facilities to host a variety of events, and is where our children can play, compete and develop both athletically and personally,” he says. “Perhaps most importantly, the Met serves as a catalyst for growth and development in that corridor of our city. The complex has driven commercial investment, enhanced property values and positioned Hoover as a premier location for families and businesses alike.”
The Met’s success as an economic engine was profiled last July as the cover story for Community Playmaker, a media platform designed to bring attention to successful American communities and civic leaders.
The article highlighted the story of how after the Barons left the Met stadium in 2012, the city approved an $80,000 investment to create a 150-acre complex in order to fuel the destination’s reinvention. An additional $25 million in investments approved by the council in recent years to upgrade the stadium helped convince the SEC to extend its contract to at least 2028 with the option for an additional one or two years.
The Met’s success was shepherded from 2016 to October of this year by former Mayor Frank Brocato. “The Barons leaving in 2012 was the best thing that could have happened for revitalizing both Hoover and the Southside of Birmingham,” he says. “Both areas have benefitted greatly.”
He points to a reinvigorated UAB and Southside of Birmingham and the rapid growth of the area around the Met Complex. “It was a win-win,” he says. “The Met area has become a lifestyle magnet where people can work, live and play. And it’s even drawn more out-of-town visitors to shop at the Riverchase Galleria.”
The Hoover Met area has drawn multiple housing developments, 300 apartment units, the Village Green multi-use arts and entertainment district and the Stadium Trace Village shopping and dining district. Brock’s Gap Brewing Co., which hosts events and provides both indoor and outdoor seating, is located across the street from the Met.
Numerous hotels are located nearby, and more are being built. “I’m thrilled to have been a part of the Met’s success and to have served Hoover,” says Brocato, who spent 24 years as the head of emergency medical services and retired as fire marshal and chief of operations for the Hoover Fire Department prior to becoming mayor.
Met venues include the recently refurbished and upgraded 10,800-seat stadium that can accommodate 16,000, the 155,000-square-foot multi-purpose Finley Center, five baseball fields, eight softball fields, five multi-purpose fields (lacrosse, soccer, football), 16 tennis courts, a playground and splash pad, a 170-space RV park, and numerous parking lots to support all the facilities. “We have a wide variety of facilities and parking for up to 4,500 vehicles, a real draw for event organizers,” Ealy says.
The stadium not only hosts the famed SEC Baseball Tournament but also is modified from August through November to host Hoover High School football games. The Met’s standout facilities helped draw ongoing use by the Perfect Game, one of the youth sports industry’s top organizers of baseball and softball tournaments, better known as travel ball. “We have about a 90% repeat rate on our various scheduled events,” Ealy says. “Events such as the World Games 2022 and World Police and Fire Games 2025 are inherently one-off situations.”
The Finley Center is designed to be able to be configured for various indoor sports, including basketball, volleyball and pickleball, as well as trade shows, conferences, meetings and other events. It features a food court and industrial kitchen.
“We’ve even talked about doing weddings,” Ealy says.
Pickleball courts and a 0.2-mile elevated track at the Finley Center are available for use by Hoover residents when there aren’t conflicting events. In addition, the Finley is home to the Hoover Heights Climbing Center, which is open to the public and can be rented for birthday parties. The public also is able to access the Met’s tennis courts for a fee.
Additional events such as concerts, festivals, community gatherings and additional sports events likely will be added to the Hoover Met’s mix, Derzis says, and SFC is scouting for them.
“City officials have always wanted to get the most impact for all the taxpayer dollars invested in the Hoover Met, not just as a sports destination but as a community resource,” Ealy says. “We keep trying to think of new things that will fit in with our schedule.”
A “Bulls in the Ballpark” professional bull-riding event, for example, was added to the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium during August 2024 and is set to return in 2026, Ealy says.
Family-friendly events such as Fourth of July fireworks celebration and Spookfest safe trick-or-treating and fall festival are held seasonally.
Mayor Derzis envisions the Met of the future will have an even greater economic development and lifestyle impact than it does now. “I want families in our region to think of the Hoover Met Complex not just as a place where tournaments happen, but as a year-round destination for entertainment and community engagement,” he says. “This means being creative and proactive about booking events, partnering with promoters and organizations, and ensuring we’re leveraging every aspect of this incredible facility. It’s a facility that announces to the world that Hoover is a city that invests in quality of life and economic opportunity.”
“Stay tuned,” Derzis says. “I’m excited about the possibilities.”
Kathy Hagood is a Hoover-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the December 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
