Where West Michigan Comes to Play | The Meijer Sports Complex Expansion
Ten years ago, the West Michigan Sports Commission broke ground on a vision. On May 11, 2026, they cut the ribbon on the next chapter of it.
Since opening in 2015, the Meijer Sports Complex in Plainfield Township has drawn athletes and families from across the country, quietly becoming one of West Michigan's most reliable engines for sports tourism and community recreation. But for WMSC President Mike Guswiler and his team, the original vision was never fully complete. A winning streak campaign and the right partnership brought that vision back to life.
O-A-K returned as Construction Manager to help make it happen.
"We wanted to build upon what we started," Guswiler said at the ribbon cutting. "We saw the Meijer Sports Complex producing the sports tourism we were looking for, but also serving as a community asset. So we brought O-A-K back to the table and said, 'Let's improve what we did.'"
The $13.5 million expansion adds the Alro Steel Championship Softball Field as its centerpiece, a signature venue designed to rival the facility's existing Boss Family Championship Field. The field features a canopy, press box, bleacher system, and lighting built for evening tournament play. Aquinas College's women's softball team already called it home during their spring season, and it will serve youth leagues from 8U and up alongside adult amateur and collegiate competition.
Rounding out the expansion: 20 new pickleball courts, two flex-use diamond fields, bullpen facilities, a concession building, restrooms, a playground, and 300 additional parking spots.
For O-A-K Project Manager Jared Gauss and his team, the project carried the weight of a returning partnership and a community that had been watching the complex grow for more than a decade.
"It was an exciting project," Gauss said. "The level of detail that went into this facility, from the bullpens to the bleacher system to the canopy and press box, everything was designed to put on a great tournament event."
The expanded complex is projected to welcome 200 additional teams annually and generate an extra $1 million in visitor spending for the region each year. For a facility that already returns roughly $90 million in annual economic impact on a $2.6 million operating budget, the expansion represents something more than square footage. It represents a community that keeps investing in itself.
"Our donors are going to be as pleased as we are with the result," Guswiler said.
So will the families, the athletes, and the teams who will call this place home for years to come.