In a move that will have soccer enthusiasts on the west side of The Mitten lacing up their cleats in anticipation, Grand Rapids is gearing up to welcome its first professional soccer team. West Michigan Soccer is set to begin play in 2027 at the newly planned Amway Stadium, planting a flag for professional soccer in the state. This new team will join the ranks of MLS Next Pro, the burgeoning development league engineered as a pipeline to Major League Soccer, WWMT reports.
The effort to bring this team to life is spearheaded by an alliance of business leadership, including majority owner David Van Andel and his family. With the DeVos family holding a minority stake in this endeavor, the partnership harkens a significant addition to the region's professional sports offerings. While the official brand identity of the team remains a work in progress, according to WILX, West Michigan Soccer will eventually echo the cheers of approximately 8,500 fans at their home stadium, with the inaugural season pegged for the spring of 2027.
As a feeder to the upper echelons of soccer in the United States, the MLS Next Pro league welcomed the announcement, adding yet another gem to its crown while planning continued expansion. As noted by FOX 17 News, the league formed in 2022 currently boasts 29 teams. Grand Rapids is poised to join a fresh cohort of teams aiming to carve out their slice of soccer glory, along with impending entrants from cities like Cleveland and Jacksonville.
The burgeoning Amway Stadium not only promises to be a hub for sports fervor but also a catalyst for economic synergy in the area, stimulating tourism with projections of drawing 160,000 visitors annually. Funded in part by public dollars via a hotel room tax within Kent County, the stadium's construction, and its budget of approximately $172 million, has sparked a dialogue about accessibility and community use. "I hope people think of it as a public asset, our stadium," Sergio Cira-Reyes, of the local GR Champs League, told FOX 17 News, articulating the communal aspirations tethered to the project.
