Hoover Met

[Joe Mayo]

I drove by it today for lunch to look at the new Hoover Sports Complex that they're finishing up right next to it and it looks amazing.

It's suppose to be open next week for the tournament. There is a ton new RV parking so that nice. I'm glad they kept it in Hoover for selfish reasons obviously and they have seemed to step it up with this new complex.

Looking at the bracket if we end up the 4 or 5 seed we will be the late game both nights assuming we win if we're the 5 seed on Tuesday night. The 2 seed wouldn't be bad playing the 2nd game on Wednesday. The 3 seed would suck playing at 9:30. I know we need to take care of business this weekend but I just love tourney time so I'm getting excited.

Basically to sum up everything i just said, none of this has any meaning to most and I just rambled for the hell of it.

 

[57stratdawg]

Is there a team that plays there full time now?

 

[Joe Mayo]

Not baseball, I think Hoover High School's football team still plays games there.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

I rolled out there a week or so ago and it seems like it won't be done in time. Stadium looked like crap too. Field itself looked great, however.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

The decision to keep the tournament there should have been met with a commitment to do stadium renovations. The place is a dump. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are any plans to upgrade the stadium. I still enjoy the atmosphere and it's a good central location to have the tournament, but it's a dump.

I would like to see a rotating schedule between Memphis, New Orleans and Hoover in the future. Keeping it on the western half of the SEC footprint will reward the schools that have the most die hard SEC baseball fans.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

I agree, Hoover checks pretty much every box needed for the SEC baseball tournament except a nice stadium, structure wise. Then again, that tournament is more about capacity/logistics than luxury I guess. Some may disagree, but the vast majority of folks that go to that tournament prefer a site like the Met rather than a downtown super-urban site.

 

[patdog]

Pretty sure they made a commitment to some upgrades to keep the SECT. Not sure to what extent though. It's been a great place for the SECT for a long time, but it just doesn't make sense to keep the tournament in a stadium that has no other tenant. The stadium is way past its prime, and is going to fall further behind with no other real revenues. Even Hoover HS doesn't play all their football games there. If you're going to keep the tournament in Birmingham, there's a much better stadium downtown. But I'm finally coming on board with the people calling for the tournament to be rotated among several cities and stadiums.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

Regions seems a little too small for some of the crowds the tournament sees, and the RVers would throw a fit with that setting. Memphis could also present that same problem.

 

[MSUDC11]

I've made the trip to Hoover twice (was there all week when we won the tournament in 2012) and I love having it there.

I would've been ok with Memphis just because it's a pretty central location for a lot of different schools, but heck no to NOLA. Would basically be like playing it at Alex Box.

The only thing I dislike about The Met is that it's super easy to get absolutely roasted in the sun. Especially on crowded days when you don't have many options for moving around.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

The reason Hoover High doesn't play all their games there is because they have their own stadium that can handle most HS football crowds. Get your facts right. It isn't due to the condition of the stadium.

All the people wanting to move the tournament around, are doing it so it's easier for them to go, again, not because of the stadium condition.

Is it a little outdated? Yes. Is that the reason people want it moved? No. Nobody who regularly goes to the tournament has any complaints. At this point anyway.

As it ages further, that might change.

 

[patdog]

The reason Hoover High doesn't play all their games there is because they have their own stadium that can handle most HS football crowds. Get your facts right. It isn't due to the condition of the stadium.

What the hell are you talking about? I never said anything at all about the reason Hoover doesn't play all their games there. I simply stated they aren't a full-time tenant. But the simple fact is, you can put as much lipstick on the Hoover Met as you want to, but it's still a dump, and it's going to get worse instead of better over time because there's just no real money coming in other than from the SEC.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

This is what you said:

The stadium is way past its prime, and is going to fall further behind with no other real revenues. Even Hoover HS doesn't play all their football games there. If you're going to keep the tournament in Birmingham, there's a much better stadium downtown.

In that context, it seems you were saying that Hoover High doesn't play their games there due to the condition of the stadium. Most people will interpret it that way, even if you didn't mean it that way.

But the simple fact is, you can put as much lipstick on the Hoover Met as you want to, but it's still a dump, and it's going to get worse instead of better over time because there's just no real money coming in other than from the SEC.

We agree there. I said as much myself in my first post in this thread. It has to be a real concern for Hoover, at least 5 years from now. They may be able to pay for repairs themselves, who knows.

 

[patdog]

I should have worded it better.

 

[seshomoru]

Surprised they haven't turned that stadium into a hotel or a mall. Seems like those are literally the only things zoned for in Hoover.

 

[thekimmer]

I kinda like the idea of the SEC tourney moving around a bit...

I drove by it today for lunch to look at the new Hoover Sports Complex that they're finishing up right next to it and it looks amazing.

It's suppose to be open next week for the tournament. There is a ton new RV parking so that nice. I'm glad they kept it in Hoover for selfish reasons obviously and they have seemed to step it up with this new complex.

Looking at the bracket if we end up the 4 or 5 seed we will be the late game both nights assuming we win if we're the 5 seed on Tuesday night. The 2 seed wouldn't be bad playing the 2nd game on Wednesday. The 3 seed would suck playing at 9:30. I know we need to take care of business this weekend but I just love tourney time so I'm getting excited.

Basically to sum up everything i just said, none of this has any meaning to most and I just rambled for the hell of it.

Much like the basketball tournaments. Would give more people an opportunity to attend.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Move it to Starkvegas !

 

[CuzDawg]

As one who goes to the SECT regularly, I'm just amazed each year at the fact it's not all chairback seating. In this day and age of minor league parks having all chairback seating, the Hoover Met has significant seating that is bleacher back. Thats one renovation that wouldn't be frightfully expensive and should have been done years ago.