By Noah Henson
After a year of planning and designing a riverfront concert venue in downtown Grand Rapids, it appears that the plans have finally been set in stone. The amphitheater project finally has a name and a company to back the fundraising necessary to complete the construction.
The Grand Rapids-based insurance brokerage company, Acrisure, has officially bought the naming rights to the new highly anticipated amphitheater for $30 million on behalf of Acrisure CEO Greg Williams. This leading donation covers roughly one-fifth of the proposed $154 million total cost price tag. This purchase comes only a year after the company bought the naming rights to the stadium that was formerly Heinz Field.
“We are thrilled to play a role in the development and growth of Grand Rapids… The Acrisure Amphitheater is poised to be the next great cultural landmark of the city and region,” stated Williams on the Acrisure website.
The fundraising is not over however. A state budget signed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has funded an additional $30 million for the amphitheater.
The amphitheater project is expected to break ground on 201 Market Ave., and will be a part of a planned 31-acre development, making it the largest active riverfront development in the country. The amphitheater will have a capacity of 12,000 and is expected to host more than 50 ticketed performances per season. The end goal of the construction is to turn an area that is currently home to parking lots and older city offices, into a vibrant venue that will attract national music acts to the city in order to boost tourism. Acrisure Amphitheatre aims to welcome its first concerts in May of 2026 if the development goes as planned.
The benefits of having a large-scale local concert venue are clear to Grand Rapids resident Victoria Sossa.
“Once it’s finished there’s no longer a need for us to make the two-hour drive to Detroit in order to catch the bigger acts,” Sossa said.
Acrisure states that there is currently no plan for large-scale parking, and attendees of the amphitheater will be directed toward other public options such as nearby parking garages or meters. The development organization behind the project, Grand Action 2.0, claims that this environmentally friendly idea is supposed to create a “walkable green space that will be part of a nearly four-acre green ribbon.”
Construction of the amphitheater is expected to begin in 2024.
