Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
| The Hoover Met | |
 | |
| Former names | Regions Park |
|---|---|
| Location |
100 Ben Chapman Drive, Hoover, Alabama 35244 |
| Owner | City of Hoover |
| Operator | City of Hoover |
| Capacity | 10,800 |
| Field size |
Left Field: 340 Left-Center: 385 Center Field: 405 Right-Center: 385 Right Field: 340 |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1987 |
| Opened | April 16, 1988 |
| Construction cost |
$14.5 million[1] ($29 million in 2016 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | Gresham, Smith and Partners (Architect of Record), Populous (Design Architect) |
| Project manager | Harbert Commercial Construction Division[3] |
| General contractor | Harbert HPS Division[4] |
| Tenants | |
|
Birmingham Barons (Southern League) (1988–2013) Hoover High School football (1988–2010, 2012–present) Alabama Crimson Tide (2015) | |
| Website | |
| http://www.hooveral.org/index.aspx?NID=377 | |
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (The Hoover Met), formerly known as Regions Park, is a minor league baseball park located in the Birmingham, Alabama, USA, suburb of Hoover. It was home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League from 1988 to 2012, replacing historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The stadium also serves as the home for the SEC Baseball Tournament, as well as the primary home for Hoover High School football. It is located in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area near Interstate 459 at Exit 10 just off Alabama State Route 150. The stadium is located three miles from the Riverchase Galleria, one of the south's largest shopping centers.
The seating capacity is 10,800 for baseball and can accommodate up to 16,000 when the patio, banquet, and grassy side areas are used. The stadium also houses 12 suites and state-of-the-art dressing and training rooms. The stadium also features a meeting/banquet room named for Michael Jordan, who played for the Barons during his brief foray into professional baseball, during which time the stadium experienced its largest crowds for professional baseball. (The Barons were at the time an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which Jordan's business interests with owner Jerry Reinsdorf were related. Also, the Southeastern Conference games are very widely attended)
The park was renamed in March 2007 Regions Park when Regions Financial Corporation purchased the naming rights. Despite the name change, many locals still referred to the stadium as "The Met".
The City of Hoover operates the stadium and an adjacent recreational vehicle (RV) park.
Regions Park hosted the AVP Birmingham Open on July 13-16, 2006, the first beach volleyball tournament to ever be played in Alabama. The feature court was above the baseball diamond as well as eight other courts on the field, made of 222 tons of sand per court.
The stadium also played host to the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
Along with Birmingham city officials, the Barons announced plans in November 2010 to return to Birmingham with a new field to be constructed downtown, near the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus. Pending contract negotiations and construction, play at the new field was originally expected to begin with the 2012 season.[5] Due to site selection, financing issues, and problems obtaining all of the land sought by the developers the move was delayed until the 2013 season.[6][7]
On December 20, 2012, the City of Hoover announced a change in name changing the name of the ballpark back to its original name, "The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium". The name change took effect on January 1, 2013.[8]
The Hoover Met hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2015 season while its on-campus stadium in Tuscaloosa, Sewell–Thomas Stadium, underwent major renovations. As part of the agreement, outfield fences were moved in to more closely match the dimensions of TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, home of the College World Series. The new configuration remained in place for the 2015 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament.[9]
References
- ↑ http://www.baseballpilgrimages.com/AA/birmingham.html
- ↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ↑ http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/team1/page.jsp?ymd=20080505&content_id=395081&vkey=team1_t247&fext=.jsp&sid=t247
- ↑ http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/team1/page.jsp?ymd=20080505&content_id=395081&vkey=team1_t247&fext=.jsp&sid=t247
- ↑ Bryant, Joseph D.; Segrest, Doug (November 5, 2010). "Barons sign letter of intent to return to Birmingham; work could start soon on ballpark construction". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
- ↑ Bryant, Joseph D. (July 27, 2011). "Site set for downtown Birmingham ball park". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ↑ Bryant, Joseph D. (August 23, 2011). "Birmingham City Council approves contracts, leases and land swap for downtown ballpark". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
- ↑ http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/12/regions_park_to_revert_back_to.html
- ↑ Jon Anderson (September 22, 2014). "Hoover council approves contract for Alabama baseball to play 2015 season at Hoover Met". AL.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
External links
- City of Hoover - Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
- City of Hoover - RV Park
- Hoover Metropolitan Stadium - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
| Preceded by Harder Stadium |
Host of the College Cup 2011–2012 |
Succeeded by PPL Park |
Coordinates: 33°20′18.22″N 86°50′58.74″W / 33.3383944°N 86.8496500°W