Breaking Ground on Acrisure Amphitheater

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Grand Action 2.0 hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking this afternoon to kick off construction on the Acrisure Amphitheater in downtown Grand Rapids. Construction on the 12,000-seat, $184 million riverfront venue is slated for completion in the spring of 2026. 

Approximately 200 business, government and community leaders attended the event. 

“The Acrisure Amphitheater is part of a collaborative community vision that will shape the Grand Rapids landscape, connect people and places, enrich our quality of life, and bolster our economy for generations to come,” said Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, who spoke at the event. “It will catalyze significant investments in housing, retail and commercial properties. It will bring new jobs, inspire entrepreneurial opportunities and drive regional tourism. And, it will stimulate public investments in parks, greenspaces, trails and connectivity between neighborhoods and with our namesake river.” 

Grand Action Co-chair Dick DeVos used the opportunity to look back over nearly 20 years of planning for the large-scale amphitheater. He noted the important role of key public sector partners, including the City of Grand Rapids, Kent County, the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention Arena Authority, the Downtown Development Authority, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. As with previous Grand Action projects, private-public partnerships and funding are hallmarks of the Acrisure Amphitheater development. 

Acrisure Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, Greg Williams, spoke about what drove the company’s $30 million lead gift and its broader commitment to the Grand Rapids community. 

“Acrisure is proud to support the vision of Grand Action 2.0,” said Williams. “As a major employer, we’re committed to investing in Grand Rapids for the benefit of our employees and the greater marketplace. Transformative projects like the amphitheater are simply visible displays of the pride and purposeful intent we have for the region.” 

Grand Action Co-chair Carol Van Andel revealed new amphitheater renderings and gave an update on the Next Wave Capital Campaign, an effort to raise $70 million in private funding, led by campaign cabinet co-chairs Todd Custer and Tripp Frey. 

“True to form, the Grand Rapids area philanthropic community has stepped up and brought us well past the 50% mark in the ‘Next Wave’ campaign,” said Van Andel. 

Public dollars are also key in the amphitheater funding mix. In April, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation allowing Kent and seven other counties to seek approval from voters to raise their local lodging taxes to support large-scale economic development projects. The Kent County Board of Commissioners voted on May 2 to put the proposed lodging tax increase on the August ballot. 

“Now, residents of Kent County will have an opportunity to support this exciting project,” Van Andel said. “When you vote ‘yes’ at the ballot box in August, you’ll vote for a tax that you don’t pay. Visitors who stay in our local hotels pay the tax to fund the assets that attract them to our community and that we will all enjoy for generations to come.” 

Pioneer Construction will lead amphitheater construction in a joint venture with Barton Malow. Tim Schowalter, president and CEO of Pioneer, said that over the next two years, they expect to employ 700 construction workers on the site and that $6 million of the construction budget will be invested in minority-owned, women-owned, and micro-local business enterprises. 

Acrisure Amphitheater renderings and a site plan can be downloaded at this link. All images courtesy of Progressive AE. 

About Grand Action 2.0 

Grand Action 2.0 is a not-for-profit economic development organization. Its primary mission is to identify transformational capital-intensive projects in downtown Grand Rapids and adjacent neighborhoods, galvanize public opinion and support, leverage public and private investment and formulate and implement funding strategies including securing private sector funding in support of requests for primary public sector funding. Grand Action 2.0 is co-chaired by Dick DeVos, Carol Van Andel and Tom Welch. 

About Acrisure 

Acrisure is An Extraordinary Advantage℠ for millions of clients worldwide. The Company combines humans and high tech to deliver a broad array of products including Insurance, Reinsurance, Cyber Services, Mortgage Origination and more. In the last ten years, Acrisure has grown in revenue from $38 million to $4.4 billion and today employs over 17,000 colleagues in over 21 countries. Acrisure expects to announce new developments in the near term. For news and updates visit Acrisure.com or follow the Company on LinkedIn.