The SEC Baseball Tournament will continue to be held at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium through at least 2028, conference and city officials announced jointly on Thursday.
An agreement between the Southeastern Conference, the City of Hoover, and the Public Park and Recreation Board of the City of Hoover ensures that the stadium, which has been a premier venue for college baseball since 1998, will remain the tournament’s home for at least four more years. There are also options to extend this arrangement for 2029 and 2030.
The last two tournaments held in Hoover set new attendance records, with over 180,000 attendees in 2024 alone.
“The SEC Tournament has become one of the premier events in college baseball and the Hoover Met is a special venue for our fans,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “We look forward to continuing a positive relationship with the City of Hoover as the home of our baseball tournament.”
The Hoover Met, which has hosted the tournament since 1998, except for 2020 due to COVID-19, recently underwent renovations, including upgrades to the entrance and parking lot. More improvements, like new stadium seats and hospitality spaces, are set for completion before the 2025 tournament.
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“The state really stepped up to help us keep this great event in Hoover and in the state of Alabama,” Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato told Yellowhammer News. “I’m grateful for the efforts of State Senator Jabo Waggoner and House Representatives David Faulkner, Rex Reynolds, Leigh Hulsey, Mike Shaw, Susan DuBose, and Arnold Mooney for helping to make this happen.”
The 2025 tournament will also feature all SEC teams, including newcomers Oklahoma and Texas in a single-elimination format. Tickets go on sale in March at SECsports.com. The SEC’s baseball success continues with five consecutive national titles since 2019 and SEC teams making the College World Series finals 15 out of the last 16 years.
“For the past 27 years, the City of Hoover has been pleased to host the SEC Baseball Tournament,” Brocato said. “Over those years, we’ve developed a great partnership with the SEC. The City has worked extremely hard to provide stellar customer service, and make sure we understand what players, coaches, fans, and the SEC expect from us. Working as a team, we believe we’ve built a brand and with all our members, we have created what we believe is the best environment in college baseball. We are so grateful that the SEC continues to support hosting the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover.”
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
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