Meijer Sports Complex expansion brings more teams, visitors, opportunities

The West Michigan Sports Commission’s new $13.5 million expansion of the Meijer Sports Complex is expected to bring more sports visitors to the area, provide a top-level softball facility for female athletes, and add about $1 million each year in visitor spending.

The upgraded facility in Plainfield Township now includes the Alro Steel Championship Softball Field, 20 pickleball courts, two flexible-use baseball and softball fields, a donor plaza, and 300 additional parking spaces. 

Organizers say the improvements will allow the venue to host about 200 more teams each year.

“This is possible thanks to our generous donors who have been with us along the way,” West Michigan Sports Commission President Mike Guswiler says. “Public organizations, private corporations, government agencies, and individuals came together, united in a singular cause of creating more spaces for youth and amateur athletes to recreate in West Michigan and infuse dollars into the economy through sports tourism.”

Communities across the country are using sports complexes to bring in visitors and help local economies grow. Leaders say the new softball stadium is important because it gives girls and women a top-level place to play, much like the baseball fields already at the complex.

Jim Horman, chair of the sports commission board and a leader at Progressive Cos., says the new softball field will attract more tournaments to the area and create more chances for girls and women athletes to compete.

The complex already serves as the home field for Aquinas College’s baseball and softball teams. Officials say it also will attract national tournaments and large-scale pickleball events, including the 2026 NAFA Masters World Series-East and a Professional Pickleball Association Challenger Series tournament later this year.

Organizers say the project was also intended to create a long-term community asset. Improvements included resurfacing the Nate Hurwitz Miracle Field for children with disabilities and adding shaded bleachers for spectators.

The expansion includes the Redfield Family Donor Plaza, which features commemorative plaques and a bronze sculpture by Muskegon artist Ari Norris celebrating baseball and softball participation.

The Meijer Sports Complex opened in 2015 after a $7.5 million privately funded campaign. Since then, officials say, the venue has hosted 200 weekend travel tournaments, attracted more than 287,000 visitors, and generated $69.3 million in direct visitor spending in Kent County.

Rapid Growth recently connected with Mike Guswiler for a Q&A to learn more about the project and its impact.

Rapid Growth: The West Michigan Sports Commission recently completed a $13.5 million expansion at the Meijer Sports Complex, adding new softball fields, pickleball courts, and upgraded amenities. What was the vision behind this expansion project, and what does it mean for the future of sports tourism in West Michigan?

Mike Guswiler: The West Michigan Sports Commission set a lofty goal when we formed as a nonprofit in 2007 – to serve as an economic generator to harness some of the $60.1 billion national youth and amateur sports industry for the region. In order to attract regional and national youth and adult amateur sporting events to West Michigan, it is necessary to have tournament-quality venues. It made sense to build a premier baseball/softball complex to bring dollars to our region from travel teams looking for venues in the Midwest. With a budget of $7.5 million, we broke ground on the complex in October 2012, completing it in August 2014 and opening for our first full season in 2015. 

The Meijer Sports Complex has been a success every year since its inception – attracting over 200 weekend travel tournament events, 8,851 teams, and 287,657 visitors for a total economic impact for Kent County of $69.3 million in direct visitor spending. We always envisioned the ability to expand and develop the complex’s 12 remaining acres in the future to make this an even stronger community asset and economic driver. We knew that with an expanded complex, we could accommodate 200 more teams annually and bring in an additional $1 million in annual visitor spending. We also knew that it was time to improve and upgrade our existing facilities after 10 years of use. We installed synthetic turf on the Devos Family Championship Baseball Field and resurfaced the Nate Hurwitz Miracle Field as part of this project.

RG: One of the signature additions to the complex is the Alro Steel Championship Softball Field, which brings a premier venue for women’s athletics to the region. Why was it important to invest in a championship-level softball facility as part of this project?

MG: The significance of this field cannot be overstated, as it adds important gender parity by offering a championship softball field for women and girls in addition to our existing championship baseball field. And it is state of the art – featuring synthetic turf, grandstands, lighting, covered dugouts and a press box. In addition to being a magnet for regional and national softball tournaments, it has become the home field for Aquinas Women’s softball. We look forward to seeing them and other women’s teams play here.

RG: The expanded complex is expected to host hundreds of additional teams and generate significant economic activity for the region. What kind of impact do you anticipate this facility will have on local businesses and the broader community?

MG: Tourism creates a trickle-down effect in the regional economy. And sports tourism is an especially strong investment because it’s shown to be recession-proof – parents will always get their kids to tournaments even if they have to tighten their belts in other aspects of their family budget. A typical family visits for two to three days at a travel tournament, and they spend over $650 on average during that visit. Multiply that by the thousands of visitors we attract annually, and you see an exponential impact that goes directly into the region’s hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and shops. The new Hotel Rose in Rockford is certainly excited about the expanded Meijer Sports Complex, but families stay as far as 30 miles away – benefiting hotels and restaurants all across Kent County.

RG: In addition to baseball and softball improvements, the complex now includes 20 pickleball courts, reflecting the sport’s rapid growth nationwide. How does adding pickleball help broaden the appeal and year-round use of the complex?

MG: Our presence with the Meijer Sports Complex has fostered adjacent sports facility development to make this region a true youth/amateur sports destination, including Rock City BMX, West Michigan Archery Center, two multi-use soccer fields, and the Merrell Trail – all part of Plainfield Township Premier Park. Adding 20 pickleball courts, including a championship court, is a natural as we continuously enhance our region’s sports infrastructure offerings to make us more competitive regionally and nationally at hosting tournaments – whether youth and amateur baseball, softball, or pickleball. Rockford Pickleball Club will manage the courts that will be open to the public and for tournament play, and we’ve already booked the Professional Pickleball Association Challenger Series Pickleball Tournament Sept. 18-20.  While the complex remains a seasonal-play facility, the synthetic turf field and the fact that pickleball players will play until the snow flies offer a far greater span of months where we will see activity.

RG: The project brought together support from public organizations, private businesses, donors, and community leaders across West Michigan. What does that level of collaboration say about the role sports and recreation play in bringing communities together?

Raising $13.5 million in this economy and with so many exciting infrastructure projects in Kent County now, such as Acrisure Amphitheater and Amway Stadium, is no small feat. And construction costs have skyrocketed since we broke ground on the complex in 2012. The construction of the initial complex cost $7.5 million total, with the expansion costing almost double that amount. But the biggest difference from our first phase to now is that we raised the initial $7.5 million almost exclusively from private donations. 

We knew that to make this expansion and improvement project succeed, it would take a true public-private partnership. We launched the Winning Streak for West Michigan capital campaign in October 2022, co-chaired by NAIA Vice President Nick Davidson and WMSC Board Member Deb Kay, with support from former Detroit Tiger Lance Parrish as our “ambassador of baseball,” and we gained support from all corners of our community. Our donor list is a combination of corporate donors like Alro Steel and Meijer; family foundations like the Secchia Family and the Daniel & Pamella DeVos foundations; and federal, state and county funding with incredible support from Kent County, which unlocked ARPA funds, U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, and State Sen. Mark Huizenga – not to mention smaller gifts from individuals and local companies who all played a part. This unique collaboration across all types of organizations is a testament to the power of sports in uniting communities. 

There are still ways to give through our Winning Streak Legacy Program, where supporters can purchase an engraved brick, bench, or picnic table to help sustain the Meijer Sports Complex into the future.

Photos courtesy of the WMSC and the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce