GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Now that the planned Grand Rapids soccer stadium has a name, many community members are no doubt wondering: What team will call the 8,500-seat venue home?
As of now, project officials aren’t ready to show their cards.
But an announcement could come as soon as December, said Spencer Wheelock, a spokesperson for DP Fox Ventures, a company owned by Dan and Pamella DeVos that owns the Grand Rapids Griffins and Grand Rapids Rise and is involved in discussions about the team.
“There will be news about who will be playing at the stadium before the end of the year,” said Wheelock, a vice president at SeyferthPR, a Grand Rapids public relations firm that works with DP Fox Ventures.
He declined to comment further.
While discussions about building a soccer stadium have been underway for years, little has been said publicly about the team that would call the venue home.
Private economic development group Grand Action 2.0 has been working to secure the necessary public approvals as well as the funding needed to build the stadium. The group’s executive director, Kara Wood, has said there is “significant ownership interest here presently in West Michigan that would be willing to invest in a team should we have a stadium.”
Officials haven’t stated what league the soccer team would be part of. But, during public meetings and comments, they have said the stadium will be host to “the highest level of soccer in the state of Michigan.”