MLive reports on land sale for new soccer stadium, but omits the concerns of residents and ignores the DeVos connection in all of it

Two weeks ago, MLive ran an article entitled, Grand Rapids board signs off on $8M land sale for Amway Stadium. 

The MLive story was based on a February 10 Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority (DDA) meeting, where it was decided that Grand Action 2.0 would be purchasing the land on which the new soccer stadium would be built. The article states: 

The 8.5 acres Grand Action is purchasing includes 4.4 acres of surface parking lots near the corner of Pearl Street NW and Mt. Vernon Avenue NW owned by the DDA. It also includes the YMCA’s parking lot, public rights of way and the former Big Boy property.

The only people cited in the MLive article were DDA chairperson Rick Winn, Grand Action 2.0 executive director Kara Wood and Tim Kelly, president and CEO of DGRI. There were no neighbors cited, nor were any community groups that have publicly opposed this project. 

The DDA unanimously approved the land sale, but the MLive article failed to mention that two of the members of the DDA are DeVos family operatives, Rick Winn and Greg McNeilly. 

Richard Winn is the President of AHC Hospitality, which is a DeVos-owned company that manages 14 Hotels/Inns, most of which are in West Michigan. In addition to sitting on the DDA Board, Richard Winn is also on the boards of the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, Experience GR, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. and Grand Action 2.0. All of these entities work in collaboration to make sure that the DeVos and Van Andel families get what they want. 

Greg McNeilly was the campaign manager for the failed gubernatorial campaign of Dick DeVos in 2006. McNeilly is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the DeVos run Windquest Group, an entity that is owned by Dick & Betsy DeVos. McNeilly has also been the former President of the Michigan Freedom Fund, a far right political group that was also created by the DeVos family. McNeilly ran the campaign to oppose the Voters Not Politicians ballot initiative in 2018. In 2021, McNeilly defended the Enbridge Corporation and their plans to build a tunnel underneath the Great Lakes for the Line 5 oil pipeline.

The MLive article also leaves out some of the important details that were decided upon at the February 10 DDA meeting. Here are additional details, based on the DDA minutes:

Of the approximately 8.5-acre site, the DDA currently owns 4.4 acres, which includes the northern portion of the YMCA parking lot and the portion of the Area 7 parking lot south of Blumrich Street. It also includes the former Big Boy property which was given to the DDA in December 2023 for no cost. The rest of the site is made up of the southern portion of the YMCA parking lot and public rights of way. The attached exhibit provides an overview of DDA owned property on the site. 

To initiate construction of the stadium, Grand Action 2.0 has developed agreements for the land owned by the YMCA and the DDA. Under the proposed arrangement,GA 2.0 will acquire the YMCA property and assign the deed to the DDA. For the DDA owned property, GA 2.0 has agreed to pay the fair market value of $53.43 per square foot that was established in the 2024 appraisal. Excluding the former Big Boy property, the total site area is 150,481.21 square feet, bringing the final amount of the sale to $8,040,211.05. 

To allow construction to begin in spring 2025 while the project funding is finalized, GA 2.0 has proposed entering into two Agreements with the DDA. The first is a Temporary Access Agreement that would remain in effect for the entire construction period, currently expected to last two years. The Access Agreement will provide GA 2.0 and its contractors full access to the site to construct the Stadium. During construction, GA 2.0 has agreed to carry the required insurance and to indemnify the DDA and the City of Grand Rapids from any and all claims that may arise during their use of the site. Additionally, to make up for lost parking revenue during construction, GA 2.0 will pay the DDA a fixed amount of $27,000 per month in the first year and $28,350 per month in the second year. Those payments will be applied to the final purchase price. 

The second agreement is a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) that finalizes the terms and the purchase price to be paid to the DDA. Like the Agreements for the Acrisure Amphitheater, GA 2.0 will pay off the full amount due for the property (minus the monthly parking payments) over a term not to exceed 10 years. As the ultimate owner and operator of the stadium, the PSA is expected to be assigned to the CAA at the conclusion of construction.

The MLive article also omits the larger context of the relationship between Amway, Grand Action 2.0, the DDA and DGRI, all of which have embedded DeVos family operatives.

The other major omission centers on the fact that the soccer stadium will be built where there is existing downtown parking, thus reducing the amount of available parking in the downtown area and the near westside. Westside residents are already pissed off about the possibility that they might have to pay for permits to park on the street. Apparently, these concerns are not relevant to MLive, nor is it a concern of Grand Action 2.0 and their masters, the DeVos family.