Once the DeVos family bought the Big Boy property downtown, we should have known then, where the soccer stadium would go

When the most powerful family in West Michigan wants something, they usually get it. On September 1st of 2022, MiBiz – now Crain’s Grand Rapids – first reported that Grand Action 2.0 began their push to get a soccer stadium in Grand Rapids.

In that same article, it was also mentioned that one of the DeVos family entities – DP Fox Ventures LLC – had acquired 407 Pearl St. NW, the site of the Big Boy restaurant on Pearl St. In addition, the article states that the acquisition of the Bog Boy property was on July 28th, a little more than a month before the Grand Action announcement. 

The only Grand Action 2.0 person cited in the September 1 article was Kara Wood. Before joining Grand Action 2.0, Kara Wood worked for the City of Grand Rapids. I first found out that Kara Wood worked for the City of Grand Rapids, when she sent me a copy of a contractual agreement between the City and the DeVos-run entity known as Start Garden. Wood was named as the Executive Director of Grand Action 2.0 in May of 2022, just a few months before the DeVos acquisition of the Big Boy property, followed by the announcement of the proposed soccer stadium.

Interestingly enough, in the article from September of 2022, Wood stated, “Grand Action 2.0 has “multiple” sites under consideration for a soccer stadium. “We are in such early stages, it would be extremely premature to assume that would be the location at this point” for a soccer stadium, Wood said.  Of course they intended to use the land connected to the Big Boy property acquisition, which is exactly why the DeVos family purchased that land. It is true that I despise everything about the DeVos family, but they are not stupid. Everything that the most powerful family in West Michigan does is strategic, it has a purpose, even if that purpose is to make massive profits at the public’s expense.

I say all of this as context for the most recent Grand Action 2.0 announcement, as reported in Crain’s Grand Rapids, with the headline, Developer files construction plans for Grand Rapids soccer stadium. The Crain’s article states, “Grand Action 2.0 has filed formal construction plans with the city of Grand Rapids for an 8,500-seat soccer stadium, marking at least a $108 million investment on the city’s west side.” Therefore, what I stated in an article GRIID posted on September 8, 2022, is now a fact regarding the location of the soccer stadium.

Other useful pieces from the most recent Crain’s Grand Rapids post about the soccer stadium:

• The Soccer Stadium project is also applying for grants from EGLE for utilities on site. EGLE is a state-run program, which means Grand Action 2.0 will be applying to use public funds for utilities for the soccer stadium.
• The Crain’s article talks about community engagement, which I addressed in a recent post, pointing out that those with all the power don’t really host community engagement sessions, they host meetings where they hold all the power and dictate the agenda.
• Ever since Grand Action 2.0 went public with this proposal, they have consistently stated that the soccer stadium would be 8,500 seats. In the new announcement, they are now saying that the design would allow them to “expand to a total of 11,000 seats in the future.” 
• The soccer stadium would allow for a “Tier II professional team,” but fails to mention who would own it. Based on their track record of sports team ownership in Grand Rapids, it is likely that Dan DeVos would own it. Dan DeVos also happens to be the person who bought the Big Boy property, then donated it to the DDA.
• The article mentions that events like ArtPrize could be hosted at the soccer stadium. Anything to bring in tourists who will spend money at the DeVos hotels. 
• Once the project is finalized, it would be owned by the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA). The CAA Chairman, Richaed Winn, is the President of AHC Hospitality, which is the name of a hotel chain owned by the DeVos family.
• The Crain’s piece states, that the soccer stadium will employ 260 people. However, the number doesn’t say permanent jobs – between construction and staff to run the stadium – nor does it say these jobs will be full time or if they will pay a living wage or not. 
• There is also part of the article that addresses how people will get to the stadium, but doesn’t address serious parking issues or the traffic congestion that the soccer stadium is likely to create. 

What this issue essentially comes down to is people with economic and political power making decisions that the public has little to no say in. However, these same members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure will work the system to make sure that their pet projects receive as much public funding as possible, while they reap the largest in economic benefits. After all, how do you think rich people got rich – if they didn’t inherit their wealth, they exploited workers, manipulated the system in their favor, or they did both.