FROM STAFF REPORTS 

HOOVER – Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato announced a record attendance number at the 2019 SEC Baseball Tournament.

The tournament was held at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex from Tuesday, May 21 through Sunday, May 26, 2019.

The overall attendance count for the week was 162,699 attendees. The previous record was 150,064 attendees set in 2016. The average attendance per game this year was 9,571 fans.

Also, this year, nearly 8,000 more people attended the SEC Fan Fest compared to the previous year. There were a total of 32,865 fans attending in 2019 compared to 24,908 fans in attendance in 2018. The highest day of attendance was on Saturday, May 25, with 7,669 attending in just one day.

The Fan Fest is located in the 155,000-square-foot Finley Center, which sits adjacent to the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The indoor entertainment venue is for all ages and features everything from inflatable games and video simulators to a zip line, miniature golf course and sports bar section with live entertainment and a jumbo TV screen featuring the game.

The opening of the new 22,000-square-foot EXPLORE Playground and Splash Pad just weeks before the Tournament gave fans yet another option for entertainment this year. And all 170 sites at the Hoover RV Park were filled.

“Every year, we strive to make the SEC Tournament even better for all fans from across the Southeastern Conference,” Brocato said. “This year we set an all-time record for attendance. This tournament has a tremendous impact on the Hoover metropolitan economy and the state of Alabama. It brings outstanding, positive attention to the metro area. We look forward to hosting the SEC Tournament for many years to come. It means a lot more in Hoover!

It will be several weeks before calculations of the entire economic impact for the city will be finalized. In 2018, the Tournament brought a $14 million economic boost to the city of Hoover. With a record number in attendance, that number is expected to increase this year.