Grand Park Touts Visitor Numbers

Jonathan Byrd's operated concessions and a restaurant and lounge inside the Grand Park Events Center.

Grand Park in Westfield says it has surpassed all visitor projections for 2016. The sports park says more than 750,000 visitors attended over 300 events during its second year of operation with an estimated 1.9 million total visits. 

A third party economic impact study forecasted 1.5 million total visits for 2016 with a projected economic impact of more than $160 million. Grand Park says the actual economic impact numbers for 2016 are still being finalized.

"It was an exciting year for Grand Park. We’re thrilled to have exceeded our projections and to further demonstrate the success of Grand Park as an economic driver for Westfield and the entire region," said Westfield Mayor Andy Cook.  

Grand Park says more than 15,000 teams from the 48 contiguous United States and several countries attended events in 2016. Some of the high-profile events held at Grand Park included the Big Ten Men’s Soccer Tournament, U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series Midwest Regionals, U.S. Lacrosse Nationals and the Amateur Baseball Championships.

The sports park also celebrated the opening of the Grand Park Events Center, which opened in July. The facility hosted 27 events with more than 21,000 visitors since opening. It was also named the home of the fall and winter programs for Max Lax, Indiana Fire Juniors Soccer and the 1st and 10 Passing Academy.

The event center plans to host trade shows, volleyball tournaments and more in 2017.

"It’s important for the public to know that we host community events, as well," said Juergen Sommer, executive director of the Grand Park Events Center. "Grand Park is a community initiative, and we’re proud to host local teams and events, in addition to the hundreds of other out-of-state teams."