ROCKFORD, Mich. — For the first time in a long time, the Aquinas College softball program has a place to call home.
Rockford Cedar Springs Sparta
Meijer Sports Complex opens $13.5M expansion in Rockford
The $13.5 million expansion of the Meijer Sports Complex in Rockford has given the Saints a permanent home field — the Alro Steel Championship Softball Field — ending years of playing on borrowed diamonds.
Head coach Patty Jansen said the difference is immediately visible.
"We have not had a home field for a long time," Jansen said. "You walk up and you see the grand stands and the turf is brand new and bright and colorful, and it's just a fantastic addition to our sport."
Senior Hope Rummelt has played softball since she was 8 years old, but for most of her playing career at Aquinas, she had no home field to call her own.
Now, she has made the new field her own in a small but meaningful way.
"We have a logo in center field, and I'm a center fielder. So whenever I go out there, there's a red spot, I act like it's my little red carpet before the game. Just calms my nerves and a fun little thing I do before the games," Rummelt said.
The field is expected to stay busy well beyond the college season. Jansen said the facility will serve girls and women of all ages.
"It's going to be full this summer with tournaments, I'm sure, from eight year old to to 18 years old. And the part I like most is that most of the most of it's going to be for girls, and that's a fantastic addition. It's person that's personal. That's personal for me, it's it's great for kids and it's great for girls," Jansen said.
Mike Guswiler, president of the West Michigan Sports Commission, said the broader expansion is already delivering on its promise to drive economic growth through sports tourism. I walked the grounds of the complex with Guswiler last fall while it was still under construction.
"We definitely are putting people into hotels and people are staying and they're coming as a travel party," Guswiler said.
The complex has drawn teams and tournaments from as far as Texas and Ontario, Canada. Leaders project the expansion will bring in 200 additional teams annually, generating an extra $1 million in community spending each year.
Guswiler said he is eager for visitors to experience what has been built.
"We're excited for the patrons to come back see the improvements we made. And we do it because they're coming here, and we appreciate them, and I think they'll be excited for what we've done," Guswiler said.
He said the facility has met every goal set at the outset of the project.
"It's hit all the metrics that we wanted it to hit, and had some more land to build on," Guswiler said.
For Rummelt and her teammates, they are the first to call the Alro Steel Championship Softball Field home — and perhaps an inspiration for the young girls who will follow them onto that turf for years to come.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
