News
Amway Stadium Announces its First Non-Tenant Event
Amway Stadium announced today the University of Michigan and Michigan State University will bring their in-state rivalry to the state’s newest 8,500-seat soccer stadium this spring. The Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans Men’s and Women’s soccer teams will face each other for an exhibition doubleheader on Saturday, April 10.
The PPA Challenger Series’ Grand Rapids PPA Challenger is coming to the Meijer Sports Complex in Rockford, Mich., Sept. 18-20, where amateur players, aspiring professionals, and professional players will compete on the same courts to earn PPA points, medals, and money. The PPA Challenger also represents the Professional Pickleball Association’s first event in Michigan.
Move United, the national leader in community-based adaptive sports and recreation for individuals with disabilities, announced at the Closing Ceremony last night that The Hartford Nationals will once again return to Grand Rapids in 2027. The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United is the largest and longest-running national sport championship event for athletes with a physical disability, visual impairment, and/or intellectual disability.
The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United, the largest and longest-running national sport championship event for athletes with a physical disability, visual impairment, or intellectual disability, returns to Grand Rapids, July 10-16. The event again will be hosted by the West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) and Move United member organization, Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports.
The Hartford Nationals Conducted By Move United Builds on Successful 2025 Event Attracting 423 Athletes and 161 Coaches from 36 States, Generating $2 Million in Economic Impact for Region
Expanded Complex Expected to Generate Additional $1 Million in Annual Visitor Spending; Includes 20 Pickleball Courts, Two Flex-Use Fields, Redfield Family Donor Plaza and 300 More Parking Spaces
West Michigan Sports Commission also Launches Winning Streak Legacy Program Selling Engraved Picnic Tables, Benches and Bricks for Enhanced Redfield Family Donor Plaza Unveiled at Project Completion in May
West Michigan Sports Commission also Saw Year-over-Year Increases in Athletes/Visitors and Steady Hotel Night Bookings, Plus Increase in Spending and Athletes with Meijer State Games of Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., JULY 1, 2025 –The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United, the largest and longest-running national sport championship event for athletes with a physical disability, visual impairment, and/or intellectual disability, will take place in Grand Rapids, July 11-17.
(GRAND RAPIDS, MI – MAY 13, 2025) In two months, Grand Rapids will host The Hartford Nationals conducted by Move United, the largest and longest-running national sport championship event for athletes with a physical disability, visual impairment, and/or intellectual disability.
FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 18, 2025 – West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) President Mike Guswiler was named Chief Executive of the Year by Sports ETA, the only trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, at its Chief Executive Summit held in Fort Worth, Texas, this week.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 27, 2025 – With 11,000 inland lakes and more freshwater shoreline than any other state in the nation, it’s no surprise that Michigan offers world-class fishing opportunities. USAngling knows it too, which is why it is hosting its 2025 XXI World Ice Fishing Championship(WIFC)Feb. 11-16 on Tamarack Lake in Lakeview, 16 miles north of Greenville in West Michigan – the first time for Michigan to host this event.
The West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) reported today that youth/amateur sports tourism generated $90.8 million in estimated economic impact for the region in 2024 through 112 events – the highest year yet in the organization’s history for visitor spending and a 65 percent gain from 2019.
Almost two years to the day that the West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) introduced the “Winning Streak” capital campaign to improve and expand the Meijer Sports Complex, executives representing the campaign, project and donor community threw the first shovels of dirt to kick off the start of the expansion portion of the project at an invitation-only groundbreaking event today at the complex. The project is expected to be completed in October 2025.
Move United, the national leader in community-based sports and recreation for individuals with disabilities, has selected Grand Rapids, Michigan, as the host site for The Hartford Nationals in 2025 and 2026. The Hartford Nationals is the largest and longest-running national sport championship event for athletes with a physical disability, visual impairment, or intellectual disability.
The West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC)’s Meijer Sports Complex improvement/expansion campaign got a major boost with a $1.5 million donation from Alro Steel Foundation and $750,000 in federal grant funds from Congresswoman Hillary Scholten, raising the fundraising total to $8.7 million – or 77 percent of its $11.4 million goal. Alro Steel’s donation also ensures the naming rights of the complex’s new championship softball field.
The West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) brought home more than industry knowledge when it recently returned from the annual Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA) Symposium in Portland, Oregon. It took home the title “Sports Commission of the Year” for 2023 in the under 500,000 population category as one of only 10 awardees honored among 800 member organizations.
The West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC) is bolstering its team as it continues fundraising for the Meijer Sports Complex expansion, hiring fundraising expert Barbara Benda to fill a new position as director of development. The WMSC also hired Courtney Miner as event coordinator of the Meijer State Games of Michigan, the commission’s signature event that embodies the values of participation, sportsmanship and healthy living among Michigan residents.