Acrisure Amphitheater drew 400,000 in its first season. Grand Rapids now votes Oct. 27 on how loud it can be

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 400,000 people went to shows and events at the new Acrisure Amphitheater in its first season, venue figures released this week show, and about one in three came from outside the Grand Rapids area.

The riverfront venue hosted 50 public events in its first season, including concerts, comedy shows and community celebrations, plus a number of private gatherings, according to figures reported by FOX 17 and WZZM 13. FOX 17 reported the attendance count was based on ticket data.

The season’s other headline number is about hotel rooms. Data from Experience Grand Rapids, the county’s visitor bureau, showed hotel occupancy rose on 30 of the 40 event dates it tracked, the stations reported. The biggest one-night jump was 59%, and the eight strongest dates averaged a 22% gain over the same nights a year earlier, according to the venue’s figures as reported by WZZM.

Nearby business owners told the stations they felt it. “Just to see the foot traffic here at the downtown market, I can’t imagine any other business within the area not doing well,” Blon Hang, owner of Rak Thai a few blocks away, told WZZM. Jon Bailey, owner of Lantern Coffee, told FOX 17 a joint promotion with the venue for a 5 Seconds of Summer show “brought in some new faces that we hadn’t seen before.”

The noise fight isn’t over. Not everyone was a fan. Residents of Plaza Towers and other downtown and near-downtown homes complained that concert sound carried into their homes, a dispute The Mitten Daily first covered in early October. After a circuit court judge ruled that the venue must follow the city’s noise ordinance, city leaders drafted an amendment that would keep the amphitheater exempt from most of the ordinance, relying instead on decibel limits written into event permits and on sound monitoring, WZZM reported. FOX 17 reported the proposal would exempt the venue until 11 p.m.

The Grand Rapids City Commission is scheduled to take up that amendment on Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to both stations.

What it means for you. If you live near downtown and want a say on the noise rules, the Oct. 27 commission meeting is the place to be heard; check the city’s meeting agenda for the time and public-comment rules before you go. If you go to shows, the outdoor season is over. Greta Van Fleet, Matchbox Twenty and Stick Figure have already been announced for the 2027 season, with more shows expected in the coming months, WZZM reported.

For taxpayers and neighbors alike, the figures released so far are attendance and hotel counts, not a financial statement; we did not find a published accounting of the season’s operating results as of Friday morning.

Sources:
FOX 17 West Michigan, “Acrisure Amphitheater wraps its inaugural season, a look at the numbers,” Oct. 2026 (events, ticket-data attendance, out-of-town share, hotel data, Lantern Coffee quote, 11 p.m. exemption, Oct. 27 vote), https://www.fox17online.com/acrisure-amphitheater-wraps-its-inaugural-season-a-look-at-the-numbers
WZZM 13, “Acrisure Amphitheater concludes successful first season amid ongoing noise concerns,” Oct. 22, 2026 (event mix, hotel figures, Plaza Towers complaints, court ruling, permit-based decibel limits, Rak Thai quote, Oct. 27 meeting, 2027 shows), https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/acrisure-amphitheater-concludes-first-season-amid-ongoing-noise-concerns/69-34595df7-d038-4788-b8ee-5441c4cab0e1
WGHN, “Over 400,000 Attended Events At Acrisure Amphitheater,” Oct. 23, 2026 (cross-check), https://wghn.com/2026/10/23/over-400000-attended-events-at-acrisure-amphitheater/
The Mitten Daily, earlier coverage of amphitheater noise complaints, Oct. 5, 2026, https://themittendaily.com/stories/grand-rapids-amphitheater-noise-1005.html
Photo: WMrapids, “Acrisure Amphitheater construction 2025.jpg,” Sept. 13, 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acrisure_Amphitheater_construction_2025.jpg

Grand Rapids

Tags: Grand Rapids · Acrisure Amphitheater · Concerts · Noise Ordinance · City Commission · Downtown