It’s Official! Hoover will host the SEC Baseball Tournament until 2028

Reviewed by: Caleb Turrentine

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SEC Baseball
Hoover Park Board Chair Lynn Cummings, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato at the SEC Baseball Tournament extension signing ceremony at the Hoover Met. (Pat Byington / Bham Now)

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the City of Hoover signed an agreement today to hold the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium through at least 2028.

The agreement allows the SEC the choice of exercising more extensions to conduct the tournament at the Met in 2029 and 2030. 

“This partnership works because of a mutual respect, shared goals and a commitment to putting on a top notch event together.”

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato

Host of the SEC Tournament since 1998

SEC Baseball
The 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover. (Caleb Turrentine / The Bama Buzz)

Hoover has hosted the SEC Baseball Tournament since 1998. The event has shattered attendance records over the past two years.

  • 2024 — 180,004  
  • 2023 — 171,288

In addition to the big crowds, an SEC team has won six of the past seven national championships in Omaha (the 2020 series was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

“The SEC Tournament has become one of the premier events in college baseball and the Hoover Met is a special venue for our fans. We look forward to continuing a positive relationship with the City of Hoover as the home of our baseball tournament.

Greg Sankey, SEC Commissioner

Hoover has committed $24M in improvements

SEC baseball
Hoover Park Board Chair Lynn Cummings, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato at the SEC Baseball Tournament extension signing ceremony at the Hoover Met. (Pat Byington / Bham Now)

The City of Hoover is committing up to $24 million in improvements to the stadium. Mayor Brocato provided a list of the upgrades during the signing ceremony. They include:

  • Renovated the lower level locker rooms and places for the umpire
  • New media room
  • Enhanced plaza and entrance
  • Parking lot improvements
  • Replacement of all chair back seats
  • Hospitality clubhouse along the third baseline
  • Hospitality patio behind right field fence
  • ADA compliant ramps

The agreement comes just in time for Hoover to welcome two new SEC members with storied baseball histories  — Texas and Oklahoma. The tournament has also changed to a 16-team, single-elimination format. Tickets will go on sale in March at SECsports.com. 

Have you attended the SEC Baseball Tournament? Tell us your favorite memory on social media and don’t forget to tag us at @bhamnow!

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Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

Articles: 2630

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