The 2017 State Games of America host title could have gone to sunny San Diego or Virginia Beach, but the Great Lakes State showed up to claim that moniker this year.
On its 10th anniversary, West Michigan Sports Commission Pr
es
id
en
t Mike Guswiler and the rest of his team are bursting at the seams with excitement to bring this event that draws tens of thousands of visitors to Grand Rapids. This national event
will replace the 2017 Meijer State Games- Summer Games.
The State Games of America is a biennial four-day event that will run from Aug. 3 through Aug.6 and attracts well over 12,000 athletes from more than 40 states and Canada. Athletes who have previously won medals at their own respective Summer Games state competitions are invited to this national event. These athletes participate in over 50 sports competitions throughout the course of the games, with spectator numbers tripling at 30,000 spectators. This single event has the potential to impact our region’s economy to the tune of an estimated $9.5 million.
“This year we’re combining our State Games with the State Games of America, and that’s going to bring three to four thousand more athletes on top of our regular 8,000. It’s like the Olympics for sports in our state, and the premise is that all ages and all abilities can participate,” says Guswiler.
While the two primary venues will be the Van Andel Arena (which will host the opening ceremonies) and the DeVos Place Convention Center (where the event’s “Athlete Village” will be), athletes will be competing at venues throughout a multi-county area. As we all know with hungry athletes come hungry bellies, and our city’s extensive food variety should be prepared to take the onslaught of an army of 12,000 people who have spent their days doing everything from synchronized swimming and soccer to judo and kickball. Armed with tamales, tacos, barbecue, gyros, ramen, and kielbasa, our region’s local restaurants can expect a good summer.
The event registration will be open to all ages and abilities, although team sports will require athletes to register as teams. Registration info will be coming soon.
With all this coming excitement to the region you might ask yourself, what is the West Michigan Sports Commission? Well, it is a non-profit that, according to a press statement, “works to identify, secure, and host a diverse level of youth and amateur sporting events to make a positive impact on the economy and quality of life in the region.” The WMSC, founded in 2007, has booked 568 sporting events and tournaments that attracted 880,000 athletes and visitors, generating $240 million in direct visitor spending to the region.
Although the group operates in Kent, Ottawa, and Muskegon Counties, its primary focus is in the Kent County - greater Grand Rapids area. Michigan had the Great Lakes State Games in the late 80s and 90s, which were bolstered by government and some private funding, but the model was unsustainable and it shuttered.
The National Congress of State Games, which runs the State Games of America, started when governors sought to activate their populus formed, but the government funding dried up as handoff from one administration to another became difficult and the vision for the games became cloudy. Through all this history, the WMSC and many other states have formed a resurgence in youth and amateurs sports throughout the country.
Even with the securing of the 2017 State Games of America, the WMSC team is still hard at work to bring even more events to our region. The work never stops, and here are just some of the events that are already booked for the rest of the 2017 year:
When asked if WMSC is looking to expand their reach into less traditional sports, Guswiler states “Oh yes, we have looked into BMX, standup paddle-boarding, even drone racing and e-gaming sports. It’s all on our radar. Our effort is to market this destination for youth and amateur travel sport.”
So, be sure to lace up those sneakers, find all the spandex in your closet, and start warming up for this summer’s State Games of America coming to Grand Rapids.
Ken Miguel-Cipriano is Rapid Growth’s innovation and jobs editor. To reach Ken, you can email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.