Hoover Metropolitan Complex — Attraction in Hoover

My only experience at the Hoover Met is when I went to get a COVID-19 vaccination. This is what I will review..

UAB set up a vaccination site at the Hoover Met recently. It is an excellent choice of venue for giving drive-through vaccines. The large parking area is perfect for streaming through cars and lining up cars. It is off any major highway or heavily trafficked roadway. The UAB team have set up several pop-up pavilions wide enough to accommodate cars and UAB team members. The process is very simple and well-organized. I made my appointment through the UAB patient portal website. I noticed that the website made me a second appointment for my second vaccination 3 weeks after my first. Very convenient. I arrived at my appointment time. There were people out directing traffic in the parking lot. At the first pavillion, a UAB team member gathered my name and appointment time, checked my ID, gave me a short form to fill-in and sign, then directed me to pull to the next pavilion, straight ahead. At the second pavilion, a UAB team member collected the form, gave the vaccination and immunization card and directed me to pull ahead to the waiting area. At the waiting area, a UAB team member greeted me, we conversed and they gave me instructions on how to alert them in case I had an adverse reaction to the shot. They made note of the time I received the vaccination and at what time the 15 minute wait period expired. During my wait, a UAB team member check on me verbally no less than 3x, other UAB team members would give me a nod or ask loudly to a group of cars how we were doing. The wait period flew by and I was on my way. From start to end the entire process took less than 45 minutes, probably around 30 minutes. I didn't time it. Overall, they were as well-organized as any Chick-fil-A drive-through and just as nice. Shout-out to the entire UAB team and any volunteers! Y'all Rocked It Out! Thank you for your hard work! Because y'all cared enough to be there, we are all one-step...

Update: I received a reply to this from The Hoover Met Complex. It reminded me that this event was moved from The Preserve to allow for more space due to to Covid. Anything that anyone does to help prevent any further spread of Covid is an EXCELLENT thing, so I regret criticizing the festival for the venue move. I hope that when people finally face the fact that we ALL have to do whatever it takes to end the spread of this virus that we can mingle in close proximity to each other again. Until then, the Met Complex is a great place for an outdoor gathering!**The Moss Rock Festival is being held here now, since the residents of The Preserve decided they did not want the event to be held in their neighborhood anymore. I guess I understand that, but 5 rows of booths in a parking lot - with a $10-12 admission charge - just didn't result in anything near the pleasant experience we had before in a tree-filled neighborhood. Maybe it's just me, but if I were to pay hundreds of dollars for art, I don't see doing that at a street fair in a parking lot. I really wish the Festival would look for a new venue for the next years....a Festival about nature needs TREES! Also, there were just three food trucks, all with ridiculously long wait times for (always) very high-priced "okay" food items, though there was lots of room, it seemed, for more trucks. Note: I don't blame The Hoover Met Complex for any of my criticisms. They hosted an event and hosted it well....anything I find fault with is just with that location for THAT event, not with The...

Drove into town for the Sweet Tea volleyball tournament at The Hoover Met Complex. Very nice and clean facility. I had three days worth of volleyball tournaments and spent 2 and a half full days in the facility.

They don’t let you bring food, drinks or chairs into the facility and the entry staff (those who manage the doors specifically) are mean and awful. I tried carrying coffee in one morning and the front door gentleman was overtly aggressive and assertive about me attempting to bring my coffee in with me, “if you want coffee in our facility, you need to buy it from our cafeteria.”

The next day, my daughter who was playing in the tournament walked in through the main doors with me. We made it almost 20 feet into the building (but not past the check point) when the comrade of an employee made my daughter walk back out of the building (into the rain) and enter through the players entrance. I asked, “is it really that big of a deal?” And she snapped back, “this isn’t the players entrance!”

The food in their cafeteria is garbage. Not a place for your children to be eating if they are playing all day.

Finally, this is the most uncomfortable gym experience I have had. The seating is limited and confined to metal gym bleachers that will leave you cramped and uncomfortable; one full day is brutal. It was more comfortable to sit on the hard wood floor and lean against the wall.

Great facility otherwise. Clean bathrooms and gym. Not comfortable or welcoming. Tournament was well organized. Parking was reasonably priced and...