Home run: Grand Park opening weekend celebration

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Grand Park’s official opening filled with music, events, sports and fun 

Grand Park will hold its official opening celebration June 20 through 22. Titled “Indiana’s Grandest Weekend,” the event will feature live music, food offerings, a beer garden, fireworks and a 50-foot Ferris wheel.

“While designed to attract sports visitors from across the country, Grand Park was always intended to be a gathering place for our community to enjoy,” said Westfield Mayor Andy Cook. “We’re so excited to welcome Westfield residents to celebrate the opening of their Grand Park.”

June 20

6 to 9 p.m. – Event festivities – Bring your own chairs to enjoy the concerts and festivities.

• Kick-off concert with Dave & Rae from 6 to 9 p.m.

• Ferris Wheel rides – view the entire park from the top of a 50-foot Ferris Wheel

• Enjoy corn dogs, funnel cakes and more in the food vendor area

• Have a drink in the Beer Garden

June 21

All day sporting events

• Hoosier lacrosse youth tournament (F2-F8)

• Perfect Game Super 25 baseball tournament (D1-D8)

• American Softball Association State Championships (D21-D26)

2 p.m. – Grand ribbon cutting with 1,000-foot ribbon cutting and Gov. Mike Pence

2 to 10 p.m. – Event festivities – Bring your own chairs to enjoy the concerts and festivities.

• Ferris Wheel rides – view the entire park from the top of a 50-foot Ferris Wheel

• Enjoy corn dogs, funnel cakes and more in the food vendor area

• Have a drink in the Beer Garden

3:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Circle City Royals perform on stage

7 to 10 p.m. – The Wright Brothers Band performs on stage

10 p.m. – Fireworks Show

June 22

8 to 10 a.m. – A Grand Run 5K and Family Fun Run/Walk presented by Wellbrooke of Westfield is the concluding event of the Grand Opening Weekend Celebration. Register online at www.getmeregistered.com.

All day sporting events

• Hoosier lacrosse youth tournament (F2-F8)

• Perfect Game Super 25 baseball tournament (D1-D8)

• American Softball Association State Championships (D21-D26)

Not just for sports

While Grand Park has 31 multi-purpose fields and 26 baseball diamonds, the complex also offers recreation possibilities to residents and visitors with more than 10 miles of trails and its waterways.

One group, the Indy Admirals, are taking advantage of the manmade lakes at the park for remote control boating. The club, which has been in operation for 30 years, has been testing Grand Park ponds in search of becoming the new home for weekend races.

“We’ve been looking for a pond like this to hold regattas,” Lee Shroyer. “We’d like to eventually invite the nationals in here.”

The testing has been very positive and Shroyer said the club would like to use Grand Park “as long as they’ll let us in.”

“We’ve been working with them off and on for two years,” Shroyer said while controlling his sailboat in the water east of parking lot G. “It’s a very nice pond.”

One of the reasons members enjoy the pond is the way the breeze blows steady across it.

“It’s quiet and peaceful,” Pete Pippen said. “The pond is excellent and beautiful. The wind can get to it. We are tickled to death with it.”

Pippen said Grand Park also provides exposure to the club and sport.

“Kids and parents are out here they’ll be gathering around the fence,” he said.

What’s next?

At Grand Park

Cook
Cook

The focus has been on making fields playable so common areas of the complex are receiving seed and sod.

“Because of the spring, we did not do any landscaping,” Mayor Andy Cook said.

Cook said other items that still need to be added include a concession stand, flagpole, playgrounds, soccer administration building, and stadium facilities on championship fields. The city also is working on creating an app about Grand Park to better inform guests of the area.

Cook said an announcement about the complex will be made at the June 21 ribbon cutting.

“An indoor facility is going to happen,” he said. “There’s pretty exciting stuff going on with that.”

Around Grand Park

Henke Development Group is beginning its multi-use Grand Park Village. Steve Henke said plans are to begin digging the manmade lake in the next 30 to 45 days. A hotel also is close to being confirmed.

The intersection of Tomlinson Road and 191st Street will be made into a roundabout. Three new businesses are about to break ground next to Taco Bell on Ind. 32 – McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and Big Red Liquors.

Cook said housing and building permits in Westfield have been “over the top.”

“Business in general, because of Grand Park, downtown and 31 it’s just causing a huge impact. The number of filings with the plan commission is through the roof,” he said. “We’re going to see all kinds of impact really from the park.”

Economic impact update

Compiled by Lauren Quintanilla

Two months ago, Current in Westfield interviewed several businesses and restaurants around the city about the impact of Grand Park’s opening. Now that the grand opening of the park is near, we returned to find out how/if things have changed during that span.

Big Hoffa’s Barbeque, 800 E. Main St. – 4.8 miles from Grand Park

Kline
Kline

Previously, Big Hoffa’s said it was already having an economic impact and was looking forward to seeing how the year will go. Since then, general manager Noah Kline has nothing but positive things to say about Grand Park and the effect it’s had on the business.

“We are getting a lot more great new people that haven’t been here before, and not just from Indiana, from all over. We are getting traveling teams from other states that are coming to Grand Park,” said Kline. “Business has been crazy, crazy in a great way.”

Super Bowl Pho, 112 E. Main St. – 4.2 miles from Grand Park

Super Bowl Pho owner Leo Van said they have not seen any change in business downtown from the opening two months ago. Today, general manager Tony Nguyen agreed that it’s been difficult to see the full impact Grand Park will have on their business because they are right in the middle of one of the many construction zones.

Nguyen
Nguyen

“We haven’t noticed too much of a difference, things have picked up more on the weekends,” said Nguyen. “People are trying to avoid this road because of the construction.”

Once the construction is complete, Nguyen is hopeful that business will pick up.

First Watch – The Daytime Café, 1950 E. Greyhound Pass – 6.9 miles from Grand Park

Two months ago, manager Lee Hyde was hopeful that First Watch would see improved sales on the weekend. Today, Justin Westrich, operations manager, said they have seen many people coming in from park events and have noticed more and more young athletes coming in.

“We have definitely seen an uptick in business,” he said. “Grand Park is going to be great; I think everyone is pretty excited about it.”

Chick-fil-A, 14647 N Meridian St. – 7 miles from Grand Park

Owner Patrick Tate previously said since the first weekend they have not seen much of a change outside of the normal business, but expected to see more teams in during the summer when Grand Park is officially open. Now, lead supervisor Kim Daniels said that business has picked up but they are a little behind their sales goals due to the construction on U.S. 31.

“We have definitely noticed a higher volume of traffic,” said Daniels, who attributes the peak in business to the warmer weather and traffic from Grand Park. “We are breaking sales records this week.”

Paradise Bakery, 14550 Clay Terrace Blvd. – 7.3 miles from Grand Park

Just as it was two months ago, general manager Darrel Stanley said, “We are pretty much status quo.” Stanley said they don’t expect to see much of an impact from Grand Park because the business is more weather based – when it’s nice out they tend to get busier because people want to sit outside on the patio.


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