GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC)’s Meijer Sports Complex improvement and 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.
This raises the campaign’s 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.
“We are thrilled to honor my father Al Glick’s legacy by naming the championship softball field at the Meijer Sports Complex after the company he founded, Alro Steel,” says Randy Glick, CEO of Alro Steel. “He was a passionate believer in the power of youth sports to teach valuable life lessons and develop strong teamwork skills. We are proud to partner with the West Michigan Sports Commission in providing a place for future generations of young athletes to have a beautiful and inspiring place to play and grow.”
Alro Steel Foundation donated $1.5 million specifically to the complex’s new championship softball field, which will be named Alro Steel Championship Field.
“Nothing brings a community together like sports,” said Congresswoman Scholten. “As the mom of two young athletes in West Michigan, I see how sports open doors for kids of all ages and connect our communities. I am so proud to have secured $750,000 to expand the Meijer Sports Complex. This private-public partnership will give our neighbors a place to gather, promote physical and mental health in our youth, spur our economy, and put West Michigan on the map to host athletic events in the years to come.”
“This expansion project is a true public and private collaboration to improve West Michigan, as evidenced by these substantial gifts from Alro Steel Foundation and Rep. Scholten,” says WMSC president Mike Guswiler. “We are so grateful for their generous donations that bring our fundraising goal closer to the finish line. We hope others will follow their example and join the ‘winning streak’ for West Michigan as we expand the Meijer Sports Complex to benefit the region from an economic, health, and wellness standpoint.”
While fundraising continues throughout 2024, the WMSC has begun improvement projects. The first project completed this spring was the installation of synthetic turf on the championship baseball field, which will extend the playing season. The field also was recently renamed the DeVos Family Championship Field from its prior name, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation Championship Field, after the foundation announced last month that it will sunset its work. The next improvement project begins in June with the resurfacing of the Nate Hurwitz Miracle Field this summer, which will extend this field for athletes with disabilities for another 10 years. New construction begins in the fall starting with the Alro Steel Championship Field, specifically geared for women’s fast-pitch softball, among other new key infrastructure.
Using acreage south of the complex, the expanded complex is estimated to accommodate 200 more teams annually and generate an additional $1 million in annual visitor spending. The renovation and expansion also includes:
- Three flexible-use diamond fields for youth and amateur baseball and softball as well as collegiate softball, with covered dugouts and bleachers
- 20 pickleball courts, including a championship court
- New concession building, new restroom facility, and expanded storage facility
- New playground area
- Canopies over all bleacher seating
- 300 additional parking spaces
