GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Project supporters hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for Amway Stadium, the 8,500-person venue in downtown Grand Rapids that will host professional soccer matches, youth and amateur sports and cultural activities. Gathered at the future site of the stadium, a stretch of surface parking lots next to the David D. Hunting YMCA on Lake Michigan Drive NW, they called the stadium a transformational development. One that not only will elevate Grand Rapids’ standing as a vibrant city, they said, but it will also spur the development of new housing and businesses. RELATED: With groundbreaking set, here’s what to know about 8,500-seat Grand Rapids soccer stadium Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand called it a “seed kernel” for a new neighborhood. “I expect that we’re going to be able to look back and say, ‘you know, Chicago’s got Wrigleyville but we’ve got Soccerville,’” he said. “I hope that this will stimulate housing around here, it will stimulate new businesses around here, and it will be a kernel of a new funky, interesting, individualized, distinctive neighborhood in our city.” The $175 million stadium is expected to open in 2027. -This story will be updated