LMCU Ballpark is a

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

located in

Comstock Park, Michigan Comstock Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,500 at the 2020 census. The community is located within Alpine Township to the west and Plain ...

, just north of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. Established as Old Kent Park in 1994, the stadium hosts a minor league baseball team, the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

, and other sporting events. The ballpark's Fifth Third Burger was featured on an episode of ''

Man v. Food ''Man v. Food'' is an American food reality television series. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the Travel Channel. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast Adam Richman. In each episode, Richman explores the "big foo ...

''. A fire damaged some of the first base side of the stadium on January 3, 2014, but the stadium re-opened in time to host the Whitecaps for the 2014 season.

The stadium

LMCU Ballpark is home to the

, a professional

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team and

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

affiliate of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. LMCU Ballpark was originally built in 1994 as Old Kent Park. The name was changed when

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parent company of Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), which operates 1,100 branches and 2,400 automated teller machines, which are located in 11 states: Oh ...

purchased Old Kent Bank in 2000, then again in 2021 when a new naming rights partnership was signed with Lake Michigan Credit Union. LMCU Ballpark opened with a seating capacity of 5,701 has been expanded in 1996 to seat 10,700, and 1999 to seat 11,000. It currently has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 8,942, including 7,642 fixed chairback seats. The stadium was built entirely with private funds. No taxpayer dollars were used in the construction. In addition to baseball, LMCU Ballpark can also be used for other events including motorsports and

concerts A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

, where it seats up to 15,000. The ballpark hosts a large display of Christmas lights. The ballpark is also notable for its ''Fifth Third Burger'', a , 4,800-calorie burger made with five burger patties and topped with American cheese, nacho cheese sauce, chili, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, salsa, sour cream, and tortilla chips, all stuffed inside an sesame seed bun. On the

Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008 * "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu ''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...

"Baseball Special" episode of

The Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with offices in Silver S ...

's ''

'', host

Adam Richman Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel, History Channel, and Discovery+. Early life and education Richman, an only child, was born in ...

participated in a challenge in which he had to eat this burger in under the final 2 innings of the Whitecaps game (that is, after the 7th Inning Stretch). Adam won the challenge on behalf of "man", earning him a commemorative "Call 911" T-shirt and his photo posted on the Wall of Fame. As of the time of the July 2009 taping, 1,213 Fifth Third Burgers had been sold with Richman becoming just the 157th person to earn the T-shirt. On September 29, 2007,

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Allendale, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on ...

defeated

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

, 41–10, in the first-ever football game to be played at LMCU Ballpark. Grand Valley wore "Throwback" uniforms for the event. On January 3, 2014, a fire broke out in one of the skyboxes, destroying much of the first base side of the structure and several skyboxes. The fire was caused by a space heater set next to a Rubbermaid trash can. Employees at the park at the time were able to escape without injury. The stadium reopened in time for Opening Day, and remodeling finished in time for the ballpark to host the 2014 Midwest League All-Star Game. On October 8, 2016, LMCU Ballpark hosted an international friendly

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

game between Grand Rapids FC and Aurora United FC of Ontario.

In popular culture

B-Roll footage of a game between the West Michigan Whitecaps and

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

at then Fifth Third Ballpark is featured in Champ's Whammy! home runs scene in '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues''. Officials with the West Michigan Whitecaps were unaware they would be featured in the movie and only found out after it was released in December 2013.

References

External links

Fifth Third Ballpark official siteOfficial site of the Whitecaps
{{Midwest League ballparks Minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in Michigan Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan Sports venues completed in 1994 1994 establishments in Michigan Midwest League ballparks