By David Sher
I couldn’t believe my eyes or ears.
It was like a scene from a science fiction movie.
I was at Railroad Park that day in 2012 when former Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos appeared with Birmingham Mayor William Bell to announce that the Birmingham Barons were moving from Hoover to Birmingham.
Folks from Hoover moaned.
Folks in Birmingham and surrounding areas were in disbelief.
What parents in their right minds would bring their families to the Southside of Birmingham to watch a baseball game?
Way too dangerous!
This would be a disaster for both cities.
But the doomers and gloomers were wrong.
Both cities prospered.
The Regional Win Nobody Saw Coming
Frank Brocato, who would later become Hoover’s mayor, observed: “The Barons leaving in 2012 was the best thing that could have happened for revitalizing both Hoover and the Southside of Birmingham. Both areas have benefitted greatly.”
Years later, the numbers prove him right—and they reveal something even more important about what happens when Birmingham-area cities stop competing and start playing to their strengths.
According to Business Alabama, “the Hoover Metropolitan Complex draws more than 770,000 visitors each year providing a $91 million annual economic impact.
Since 2022, the complex has generated more than $1 million each year in operating profit, including $1.3 million for fiscal 2025 says general manager Shannon Ealy of Sport Facilities Companies (SFC), the company that managers the Met. That’s unusual because typically city-funded sports venues operate at a loss.”
Without 70 Barons home games monopolizing prime calendar dates, the facility transformed into the Southeast’s premier multi-sport tournament destination. This past season the SEC Baseball Tournament alone drew 160,000 fans and produced $17 million in economic development.
Meanwhile, Birmingham’s $64 million investment in Regions Field catalyzed roughly $1 billion in total economic impact over the following decade. The stadium ignited more than $500 million in surrounding development, with nearby property values jumping in value.
The Power of Playing to Your Strengths
What made this work wasn’t luck—it was alignment.
Hoover’s development pattern, with abundant hotels, chain restaurants, and parking, perfectly serves families traveling for weekend tournaments. Parents want convenient accommodations near fields where their kids compete. They’re not looking for walkable urbanism; they’re looking for efficient logistics.
Birmingham needed something different: an anchor for urban revitalization. Regions Field delivered density, walkability, and the kind of authentic neighborhood energy that can’t be replicated in a suburban setting. The ballpark proved downtown Birmingham could be safe, fun, and family-friendly—shattering perceptions that had lingered for decades.
The Collaboration Model
This success story offers a blueprint for regional cooperation that the Birmingham area desperately needs to replicate.
Instead of fighting over the same prize, Hoover and Birmingham each claimed their natural role. Hoover became the regional sports tourism hub. Birmingham reclaimed its position as the urban entertainment center. Both cities now attract visitors who spend money, generate tax revenue, and create jobs—without cannibalizing each other’s markets.
The Barons’ move also demonstrated something crucial: regional prosperity isn’t zero-sum. When Birmingham’s downtown succeeds, it elevates the entire metro area’s profile. When Hoover attracts tournaments, those visitors often venture into Birmingham for dining or entertainment. The rising tide really does lift all boats.
What’s Next?
Imagine if this model of strategic cooperation extended beyond sports venues. What if Birmingham-area cities routinely asked: “What are we uniquely positioned to do well?” rather than “How do we compete with our neighbors?”
The Birmingham region could coordinate economic development strategies, sharing prospects rather than offering competing incentive packages. We could align infrastructure investments to benefit multiple jurisdictions. We could market ourselves collectively as a region rather than as fragmented competitors.
Mayor Tony Petelos and Mayor William Bell understood something in 2012 that many civic leaders still struggle to grasp: sometimes losing something forces you to discover what you’re truly great at. Hoover didn’t need the Barons to succeed—they needed to become themselves.
The same was true for Birmingham.
Both cities have found their authentic identities and thrived accordingly. The lesson isn’t that every city should have a baseball team or a sports complex. The lesson is that regional success requires cities to complement rather than duplicate each other’s strengths.
That’s not science fiction. That’s just what happens when Birmingham-area cities finally work together.
And our entire region is better for it.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
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Well said David! And, with inter-city cooperation, Brookwood Mall is next.
The same principle works with repurposing abandoned structures–Century Plaza into Amazon, Norwood Hospital into a world class amphitheater, a Brownfield site into a new Coca-Cola Headquarters.
With vision (and money) great things are possible.
80% of the Brookwood Mall footprint will still be vacant after the Andrews clinic opens, and the new mayors of Homewood and MB have no future prospects for occupants, despite being in a prime location.
It’s expensive to retrofit a giant mall for another purpose, so we will have that eyesore to look at for at least another decade. That’s not a win for anyone in the community.
How do you know? You speak so assuredly! 5 years ago the ortho rehab facility at Brookwood was not even on the table and now it is in construction. Only the foolish speak about the Future so confidently. Maybe you could try a bit of positivity for a change?
Do you remember who the biggest backer of that project was? The Birmingham Business Journal. Our reporter Jimmy DeButts traveled around the South and wrote numerous articles about the positive economic impact of minor league baseball in city locations.
Yes, the BBJ was very supportive.
Really good column!
I oppose the downtown baseball stadium for the same reason that the mayors of Birmingham and Hoover worked together to make it a reality. I felt like we needed to think like a metro area. At the time, I thought this meant not duplicating facilities the metro area already had. I am pleasantly surprise that there is a demand for both ballparks.
I mean “opposed” as in past tense.
Love your insights, David. Perhaps the old Ensley Iron Works next?
Excellent idea David. Such cooperation continuing and including other metro cities could lead to the ultimate coming together as one city, long time proposed and boosted but not yet in sight.
And a comment on this quote of your statement: “What are we uniquely positioned to do well?” That is what made Birmingham in the first place uniquely positioned with iron ore, coal and limestone. That idea should be our star to follow.
Although iron and steel are still being produced they are no longer the primary basis of the city’s existence, what the city has now is even better: UAB, Medical centers, Banking, Insurance, and research plus. Each of theses have great value and impact and working together really do produce many opportunities.