A Summer of Steel: How Amway Stadium Took Shape on the Westside
A Summer of Steel: How Amway Stadium Took Shape on the Westside
Picture it: a canopy of steel curving over the Westside, catching the afternoon light, and a crew of tradespeople below hanging the panels that turn a frame into a building. Drive US-131 today and the shape is unmistakable. What looked like scaffolding a few months ago now looks like a stadium.
Since spring, crews at Amway Stadium have topped out the frame, wrapped the building, and shifted their work to ground level, offering the clearest view yet of what the future home of AC Grand Rapids will become.
Topping Out
The big moment came at the end of May, when workers signed the final piece of structural steel and a crane lifted it into place. Crews and community members gathered to watch, as the final beam was set, completing the framework for the stadium's signature canopy. The cantilevered roof will shelter fans from the weather while keeping clear sightlines of the field, with no columns blocking the view. It is one of the stadium's defining features, supported by nearly 1,600 tons of structural steel.
A topping-out is a construction milestone that celebrates the tradespeople who framed the building through Michigan’s hardest months to keep the canopy rising on schedule. By the time the last beam went up, the east end was largely closed in, with its roof and masonry done and half the canopy already covering the seats below.
Wrapping the Building
With the frame complete, the work moved to enclosing the stadium and building out its interior. Through early summer, crews started roof work on the west side, installed the first bleachers, and closed in the western portion of the stadium. Much of what passerby’s notice now is that enclosure taking hold: the panels and masonry that give the stadium its identify along the highway.
What you can see from the road is only part of the work underway. On any given day, around 250 tradespeople are on site tackling the finishes, systems, and details that make a steel frame transform. Behind the walls are 10 miles of piping and well over a hundred miles of wire and cable.
Digging In
The most consequential work of the summer happened in the middle of the site, where the ground itself is being reshaped. Crews began excavating for the pitch in July, digging the center down to playing depth, and moving roughly 50,000 tons of earth in the process. The seating structure rises in tiers around the bowl as the field takes form below.
That work carries a clear rhythm into the fall. Seating installation begins at the end of September, with the tiered bowl finally filling with the rows that will hold a crowd. The pitch follows in October, laid down before the ground turns hard in the winter. Once those milestones are in place, winter shifts the focus indoors to the finishes that prepare the stadium to open.
A Room for the Whole City
When it opens in spring 2027, the 8,500-seat venue will be more than just the home for AC Grand Rapids. The club will play seven home matches here during its inaugural season, but the stadium is designed to host far more: including football, lacrosse, rugby, youth tournaments, and community events.
An outdoor courtyard will connect the venue to the shops and restaurants along Bridge Street, while 16 field-level suites and a club level create a fan experience that extends beyond the stands.
Fans get their turn this fall, too. Season tickets go on sale in October, the first opportunity to claim a seat in the bowl taking shape along the highway. And even before opening day, supporters are helping shape the club’s identity. AC Grand Rapids recently launched its “Nickname the Team” campaign, inviting fans across West Michigan to submit ideas for an unofficial club nickname through Sept. 21. For a club that has invited all of West Michigan to ”Flow Together” on matchdays, it’s another sign the crowd is already taking its place.
The impact goes beyond the stadium gates. Just like Van Andel Arena helped draw energy and activity to the center of downtown, Amway Stadium is expected to become an anchor for the Westside. It joins a riverfront already being reshaped, with the Acrisure Amphitheater drawing crowds to the water's edge, Canal Park transforming the riverfront trail, and now a stadium creating a new gateway to the city from the west.
What’s Next for the Westside?
In January, the team is expected to take the field for its first practice, cleats on a pitch that was open ground a few months earlier. From there it’s a short run to spring and the first crowd through the gates. Next time you’re on US-131 and the canopy catches your eye, look for what’s changed since the week before: a new stretch of facade, the field taking shape, a section of seats that wasn’t there. The stadium tells its own story in real time, and you get a new page every time you drive past.
Follow the GR& Riverfront for updates on all the projects shaping the future of downtown Grand Rapids.