By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

HOOVER—The Hoover City Council took another step toward building a city sports complex, approving resolutions regarding the property, event center and financial team for the project during an April 4 meeting.

The council approved a real estate sales contract to purchase 20.77 acres of land from the Hoover Board of Education to house the estimated $70 million sports complex project.

The land parcel is located behind Trace Crossings Elementary School, between the Hoover Met and Hoover High School.

According to the contract approved by the council, 17 acres will be purchased at $15,000 per acre and 3.77 acres will be purchased at $22,000 acres, totaling $337,940 for the entire parcel.

Hoover Executive Director Allen Pate said he had spoken with Hoover City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kathy Murphy about the purchase. Following the council’s approval, the sales contract will be presented to the BOE for consideration.

The council also accepted a bid for the sports complex event center structure. The $3.37 million bid from Dunn Building Company, LLC, represented “the lowest responsive and responsible bid meeting all specifications” out of five submitted bids, Hoover Director of Purchasing Ben Powell wrote in a March 31 letter to Mayor Gary Ivey and the City Council.

Dunn Building Company, LLC, constructed the current Hoover City Hall and the city’s original library.

“I have no qualms about recommending them for this (project),” Pate said.

The sports complex will be built in two phases, Pate said. The event center structure will be constructed first, followed by completion of the surrounding fields.

“Where the event center is being built, we can build it today,” Pate said.

The city is waiting to for permits to build the sports fields around the event center, Pate estimated permits would not be received before July.

The sportsplex project will be funded by a bond issue. The council approved Merchant Capital, LLC, Raymond James and Piper Jaffray as underwriters for the bond issue, and Kipling Jones and Co., LTD was approved as financial advisor.

The Hoover City Council approved funding for the sports complex project in December 2015. Plans for the complex include a roughly 145,000-square-foot event center; ample fields for soccer, lacrosse, baseball, softball and youth football; tennis courts; a playground and walking trails.