The city of Hoover has always been a place where young families have wanted to raise their children. Our parks, ball fields, and youth programs play a critical role in Hoover’s family-friendly identity.
These facilities allow our young people to learn teamwork and discipline and develop a true sense of community at an early age. That is why I am immensely proud of the work that has been done to improve and revitalize Hoover East Sports Park.
In 2024 and early 2025, hazardous electrical conditions were discovered at Hoover East, including dangerous voltage on the field fencing. In March 2025, the city was forced to shut down power across the entire park.
Consequently, the facilities were closed at night, and evening games for our youth teams were canceled. This was an unfortunate decision, but it was necessary to protect visitors’ safety.
Early in the process, engineers determined the park’s aging electrical system had to be replaced. Initial projections estimated that the project would cost more than $5.5 million and take over a year of work.
We decided to find a better way. Thankfully, Alabama Power delivered a turnkey solution covering engineering, new infrastructure, and new field lighting for approximately $4 million, completed in under six months.
The Hoover City Council approved the funding, and the Hoover Park Board provided oversight for the project. I am happy to say that the first games were played under the new lights in mid-March 2026, and as of April, every single field has been renovated.
We did it at a lower cost and finished faster than projected.
Hoover East was upgraded with LED lighting that meets AHSAA standards, expanded power to park facilities, and park improvements all the way to the Cahaba River kayak launch.
Hoover Park Board Chairman Ricky Phillips said it best: “This park is about our kids and families.”
He is right. Youth sports are not a luxury in Hoover. They are part of our quality of life and an investment in our city’s future. When our kids are on the field on a Tuesday night, they are building habits, friendships, and character that last a lifetime.
This investment reflects a larger commitment than a single project: we will keep investing in the facilities where our young people play, because investing in our kids is not an expense; it is an investment.
That commitment is already in motion. The Park Board recently hired Craig Moss as a consultant to identify and prioritize the next round of improvements across all our parks, and at my request, the City Council approved transferring $500,000 to the Park Board to fund the improvements. However, more funding will be needed once the consultant identifies all the issues at our parks and the Park Board prioritizes those projects.
We have also created a working group that will bring together Parks, Public Works, Facilities, and other departments to proactively address issues in our parks more quickly and collaboratively.
Our families should not be shut out of our parks or have to wait for simple repairs or improvements, and under this working group model, they won’t have to.
I am grateful to Alabama Power, Lemoine Program Management Services, the Park Board, and the City Council for working together to deliver for Hoover residents, and I am also thankful to the families and athletic programs who showed patience while we got things right.
The revitalization of our parks is well underway, and much more is to come. I want Hoover residents to know that we have a plan to restore the standard of excellence in each of our parks. The lights are back on at Hoover East, and that is more than a repair. It is a promise made, and a promise kept.
Nick Derzis is the eighth mayor of Hoover. He previously served as Hoover’s Chief of Police for over two decades.
