Expansion project begins at Meijer Sports Complex near Rockford

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Crews at the Meijer Sports Complex near Rockford broke ground Friday on an expansion project.

Nearly two years after announcing the Winning Streak capital campaign to improve and expand the facility, members of the West Michigan Sports Commission joined project leaders to put shovels in the ground to kick off the expansion portion.

“Today is possible because of so many that share our mission and vision in combining a first-class facility to drive activity in our local economy through sport,” WMSC President Mike Guswiler said.

Guswiler joined campaign co-chairs, lawmakers and other project leaders for the groundbreaking and shared an update on the capital campaign.

“We’ve raised an impressive $13 million to our project total goal of $13.5 million,” Guswiler said to the crowd.

Recent donations include an additional $3 million one-time community enhancement grant from the state of Michigan, $1.5 million from Alro Steel and $750,000 secured by U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, through the federal 2024 Community Project Funding Requests, along with anonymous donations.

Since 2014, the complex on 10 Mile Road east of US-131 has served as a champion-caliber baseball and softball facility, drawing in teams from across the country. It has hosted more than 208 events, drawing in 8,200 teams and 265,000 visitors with an estimated $60 million in visitor spending.

“The West Michigan Sports Commission was formed to have this kind of impact on our community and build these types of facilities that will have that impact, so (we’re) very excited with the culmination of all that work and what today represents,” Guswiler told News 8.

The expansion project will utilize space to accommodate 200 more teams each year, generating an additional $1 million in annual visitor spending. The expansion will include a new championship field, three flex-use diamond fields, 20 pickleball courts, a new concession stand, a playground, hundreds of additional parking spots and more.

Ambassador of Baseball and former Detroit Tiger Lance Parrish has also served an important role in the project.

“The fortunate thing, I guess, about being an ex-professional athlete is it creates opportunities like this,” Parrish said. “I was a young kid at one time and I do have grandkids that are of the age that they take advantage of facilities like this. So it’s nice to be able to give something back, to be a part of creating opportunities for young kids.”

Whether they make it to the pros or end their careers after Little League, Parrish added that the complex helps serve as a stepping stone for the thousands of young athletes.

“They come in here and become a part of a team for the first time, or maybe they’ve been doing it for a few years, but it could also lead to opportunities as they move up into high school or college or professionally or maybe even in the Olympics,” Parrish said. “Whatever their goals might be, it’s just an added bonus, but for right now, it’s just an opportunity to get outside and play and have fun and be a part of a team and see where that might take it.”

The facility will remain open through construction, which is expected to be complete in October 2025. You can learn more about the capital campaign and expansion highlights here .

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