GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — West Michigan's first professional men's soccer team will be called AC Grand Rapids, officials announced Saturday.
The name and brand were revealed during a 2 p.m. news conference at Calder Plaza in downtown Grand Rapids.
The team, first announced in December, will begin play in MLS Next Pro in 2027 at the new $175 million Amway Stadium being built on the city's west side.
The league currently has 29 teams and will expand by four franchises, including Grand Rapids.
David Van Andel and the Van Andel family are majority owners of West Michigan Soccer, while Dan DeVos and the DeVos family hold a minority stake.
The stadium will be built just north of the David D. Hunting YMCA on Winter Avenue.
Beyond hosting West Michigan Soccer, the facility will hold about 17 national and international soccer matches annually and another 50 community tournaments and events.
The stadium will seat 8,500 with a total capacity of 11,000. Amway Corp. paid $33 million for naming rights.
Grand Action 2.0, the development group spearheading the project, said the stadium will attract 160,000 visitors to Grand Rapids each year.
The project is among several large developments receiving financial support through an increased hotel tax in Kent County. The Acrisure Amphitheater, being built on Market Avenue along the Grand River's east bank, is another Grand Action 2.0 project funded through the tax increase.
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