Hoover Met Renovations completed just in time for SEC Baseball Tournament

Fans may have noticed some changes when walking into the Hoover Met for this year’s SEC Baseball Tournament. The City of Hoover is in the midst of $24 million, three-year renovation plan for the stadium, some of which were recently completed.

Many of the upgrades were requested by SEC officials to better the environment for fans. The SEC Baseball Tournament has been played in Hoover since 1996 and is one of the largest events the city hosts each year. In 2023, the event was attended by 171,000 fans, pushing a $15 million economic impact. This year, the Hoover Met welcomed 180,000 fans – a new record.

Phase one of the plan included upgrading the team locker rooms with new flooring, lighting, lockers and bathroom renovations. The city also added a major traffic light along Stadium Trace Parkway to help with traffic flow. Additionally, the city added a quiet room for nursing mothers and individuals with sensory challenges, which will be equipped with sensory bags from KultureCity.

The city recently finished phase two of the renovation. This phase features $11 million worth of upgrades including a new entry way, a designated media room, redesigned and repaved parking lot and a new sidewalk. The parking lot was designed to be more pedestrian-friendly, with additional leveling and grading.

The entry way canopy was the most anticipated feature, encompassing 20-30% of the budget, and features updated lighting, signage, speaker system and landscaping. The media room added industry lighting and networking connections, along with a new carpet and platform. The media room is designed to meet industry standards for the SEC and networking partners, like ESPN.

Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) provided architecture, civil engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing and electrical engineering for the project.

Design is underway on the final phase, featuring a full seating replacement in the stadium bowl with new concrete finishes, flooring and paint. There will be a new club suite on the third baseline with associated seating, plus the addition of a new right outfield multi-tiered party deck. This will not only be used for the SEC Tournament, but local events year-round.  

GMC is proud to partner with the City of Hoover and to support the SEC Baseball Tournament that is loved by so many in the community.