The University of Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team will play the 2015 season at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium while Sewell-Thomas Stadium undergoes a $35-million upgrade.
Hoover Met is the former home of the Birmingham Barons (Class AA; Southern League) and currently hosts the SEC baseball tournament.
The lease is simple: the Crimson Tide will pay $3,500 per game, with the university keeping the gate and the city receiving concessions proceeds. There will be slight changes to the Hoover Met to accommodate the Crimson Tide: the fences will be altered to match the dimensions of TD Ameritrade Park, home of the College World Series, and a new batting cage will be installed. From AL.com:
Hoover officials have been talking with the University of Alabama about playing at the Hoover Met for about a year, Mayor Gary Ivey said. Having Alabama play there will help the city’s economy, he said.
“We think it will fill up a lot of hotel rooms. It’ll be good recognition for the city. It’s just good all the way around,” Ivey said. “I think it’s going to be great for them. We’ve got the closest stadium to them that can handle their kind of crowds, so we’re excited about it.”
Having Alabama play in Hoover also will help the university draw fans more easily from the Birmingham area, and some of those fans likely will follow the team back to Tuscaloosa when its stadium renovation is complete, Ivey said.
RELATED STORIES: Alabama ends run at Sewell-Thomas Stadium; Hoover Met may see new life as temporary Alabama home; Sewell-Thomas upgrades receive preliminary approval; Alabama debates Sewell-Thomas upgrades
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