Grand Rapids moves to keep amphitheater exempt from noise limits after judge’s ruling

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids city officials want to change the noise ordinance so that Acrisure Amphitheater stays exempt from its sound limits, six weeks after a judge ruled that the venue must follow them.

City commissioners took a first step toward the change Tuesday, Oct. 6, with a final vote expected Oct. 27, FOX 17 reported. The amendment would exempt the amphitheater from the noise code from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the city manager could approve extra time when an event runs late, the station reported.

On Aug. 21, Kent County Circuit Judge J. Joseph Rossi ruled that the amphitheater must comply with the ordinance, which has restrictions on amplified sound after 10 p.m. The ordinance generally limits sound to 55 to 62 decibels, with a 7-decibel drop after 10 p.m., according to Ronald VanderVeen, the attorney for the residents who sued, MLive reported.

The suit was brought by condo owners at Plaza Towers, a high-rise less than a half mile north of the amphitheater. They sued the city and the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority, which owns the venue. The city was later dismissed from the case.

In a memo to commissioners, MLive reported, Deputy City Manager Kate Berens wrote that the ruling resulted in an unintended interpretation of the code that “cannot meaningfully be applied nor enforced” at the amphitheater. She said the amendment would restore the original intent of the exemption commissioners approved in 2023.

If the change is approved, the amphitheater would still be regulated under its special land-use permit during those hours, the memo says.

Hal Froot, one of the residents who sued, said the proposal is an attempt to sidestep the judge’s ruling, MLive reported. Froot has lived at Plaza Towers since 1991 and has been to a concert at the venue, which opened in May, WGVU reported.

“I don’t want to see the place go away. It’s good for the city, but you just got to follow the rules,” Froot told WGVU in August.

Kara Wood, executive director of Grand Action 2.0, the nonprofit that assembled the public-private partnership behind the amphitheater, told commissioners in September that she can hear the concerts in her own Plaza Towers condo. “I see it as evidence the vision for downtown is working,” she said, according to WGVU.

The venue’s owner made the economic case at Tuesday’s meeting. The Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority said the amphitheater drew an estimated 400,000 visitors to 49 shows in its first season, 100,000 more than projected, and that about 160,000 of them came from more than 50 miles away, FOX 17 reported. Plaza Towers residents urged commissioners to reject the exemption, and opponents said a sound expert they hired measured levels at their building up to 40 decibels above the ordinance’s limits, according to the station.

Rossi did not decide whether the noise is a nuisance. Lawyers on both sides expect to argue that question later, MLive reported.

Updated Oct. 7, 2026: Added the City Commission’s Oct. 6 action and the first-season attendance figures presented at that meeting, from FOX 17.

Sources:
MLive, “Grand Rapids seeks to preserve Acrisure Amphitheater noise exemption after court ruling,” Oct. 3, 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/10/grand-rapids-seeks-to-preserve-acrisure-amphitheater-noise-exemption-after-court-ruling.html
MLive, “Acrisure Amphitheater must comply with Grand Rapids noise ordinance, judge rules,” Aug. 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/08/acrisure-amphitheater-must-comply-with-grand-rapids-noise-ordinance-judge-rules.html
MLive, “Judge explains Grand Rapids amphitheater noise ruling: court transcript,” Sept. 2026, https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2026/09/judge-explains-grand-rapids-amphitheater-noise-ruling-court-transcript.html
WGVU News, “Judge orders Acrisure Amphitheater to comply with Grand Rapids noise ordinance,” Aug. 27, 2026, https://www.wgvunews.org/news/2026-08-27/judge-orders-acrisure-amphitheater-to-comply-with-grand-rapids-noise-ordinance
WGVU News, “Grand Rapids amphitheater noise dispute continues after court ruling,” Sept. 9, 2026, https://www.wgvunews.org/news/2026-09-09/grand-rapids-amphitheater-noise-dispute-continues-after-court-ruling
Zachariah Wheaton, FOX 17, “Acrisure Amphitheater noise exemption vote planned for end of the month,” Oct. 2026, https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/acrisure-amphitheater-noise-exemption-vote-planned-for-end-of-the-month
Photo: WMrapids, “Calder Plaza, Grand Rapids City Hall,” Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), cropped and color-corrected, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calder_Plaza,_Grand_Rapids_City_Hall.jpg

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