Regions Park
| Regions Park | |
| "The Met" | |
 |
|
| Facility statistics | |
|---|---|
| Location | 100 Ben Chapman Drive, Hoover, Alabama 35244 |
| Broke ground | 1987 |
| Opened | April 16, 1988[1] |
| Owner | City of Hoover |
| Operator | City of Hoover |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Construction cost | $14.5 million[1] ($28.5 million in 2012 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | Gresham, Smith and Partners (Architect of Record), HOK Sport (Design Architect) |
| Project manager | Harbert Commercial Construction Division[3] |
| General contractor | Harbert HPS Division[4] |
| Tenants | |
| Birmingham Barons (Southern League) 1988-present Hoover High School Football (1988-2010) Hoover Invitational Marching Festival (1994-present)Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament 1990, 1996, 1998-present |
|
| Seating capacity | |
| 10,800 | |
| Dimensions | |
| Left Field: 340 Left-Center: 385 Center Field: 405 Right-Center: 385 Right Field: 340 |
|
Regions Park, formerly known as Hoover Metropolitan Stadium or The Hoover Met, is a minor league baseball park located in the Birmingham, Alabama, USA, suburb of Hoover. It has been the home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League since 1988, replacing historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The stadium also serves as the home for the SEC Baseball Tournament as well as Hoover High School football. Regions Park 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.
Regions Park was renamed in March 2007 when Regions Financial Corporation purchased the naming rights. Despite the name change, many locals still refer to the stadium as "The Met".
The City of Hoover operates the stadium and an adjacent recreational vehicle 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.
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 UAB campus. Pending contract negotiations and construction, play at the new field was originally expected to begin with the 2012 season.[5] Site selection, financing issues, and problems obtaining all of the land sought by the developers has delayed a move until at least the 2013 season.[6][7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.baseballpilgrimages.com/AA/birmingham.html
- ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ 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. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/11/barons_sign_letter_of_intent_t.html. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
- ^ Bryant, Joseph D. (July 27, 2011). "Site set for downtown Birmingham ball park". The Birmingham News. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/07/site_set_for_downtown_birmingh.html. 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. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/08/post_669.html. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
[edit] External links
- Regions Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
- City of Hoover - Regions Park
- City of Hoover - RV Park
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Coordinates: 33°20′18.22″N 86°50′58.74″W / 33.3383944°N 86.84965°W
