GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A "destination asset study" aimed at planning the city's future growth needs recommends adding onto DeVos Place, building a new downtown hotel and recruiting a professional soccer team.

The study, presented Monday, Dec. 5, to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, also recommends building a "River Destination Center" to the downtown area as part of the ongoing efforts to bring rapids back to the Grand River as it flows through downtown.

"Grand Rapids has come a long way, you're not starting from a position of weakness," said John Kaatz, a principal of Convention, Sports and Leisure (CSL), the Minneapolis firm hired to conduct the study.

The next steps are designed to build on those strengths by attracting more visitors, said David Frey, co-chair of Grand Action Committee, which commissioned the study.

"When we build a city that people want to visit, we build a better city," said Frey. "That means we're also building a city where people want to live, work and do business."

"It all starts with a visit," said Frey during the presentation to the Economic Club of Grand Rapids monthly luncheon meeting.

The five areas that Kaatz recommended include:

* Expanding DeVos Place convention center by adding 115,000 square feet of convention space.

Kaatz called this a mid-term priority that needs to begin by acquiring land, either north of the current center on riverfront property used by the U.S. Postal Service or east across Monroe Avenue NW on Vandenberg Plaza, the current site for the city/county administration complex.

"This isn't an expansion project that has to start immediately, but it has to be on your radar screen," said Kaatz, who estimated an expansion will cost $83 million plus the land acquisition costs.

Frey said he would prefer to see the convention center move east and possibly replace the city/county center rather than north, where the post office property is better suited to residential and retail development.

* Downtown Grand Rapids needs 350 to 500 new hotel rooms if it is going to draw more convention visitors, Kaatz said. "We need to start planning and testing the waters," said Kaatz, who recommended spending $50,000 to attract a hotel developer.

Doug Small, president of Experience Grand Rapids, said the local hotel market is on track to enjoy at 68 percent occupancy rate this year despite adding 800 new hotel rooms. More rooms are needed to raise Grand Rapids to the next level of convention markets, he said.

* Build a USL professional soccer stadium and recruit a team for the league, which plans to expand from 29 teams to 40 teams by 2020. Kaatz estimated a stadium could cost up to $40 million.

Kaatz noted the Grand Rapids Football Club currently draws more fans per game than the 3,200 fans that attend a USL games. An 8,000-seat stadium also could serve as an additional concert venue, he said.

* Enhance amateur sports events and facilities. Amateur sports tournaments could expand on the current success of the Art Van Sports complex by creating a field sport tournament complex with 15 to 20 rectangular fields - a $20 million investment.

* Create a River Destination Center for tourists who will want to kayak and canoe in the Grand River after the rapids are restored as part of the Grand Rapids White Water project.

Kaatz suggested creating the destination on the ground floor of the Exhibitors Building, part of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel next to Lyons Square Plaza, which is being redeveloped for improved access to the river.

The destination center could provide visitors with equipment and transportation to trailheads and access points at the north and south end of the Grand River as it flows through the downtown area, Kaatz said.

"All of this creates an attraction you can't get anywhere else. This has the potential to be a game-changer," he said.

* Improve transportation options for visitors by installing trolley buses that run on routes that connect visitor destinations.

Although Grand Rapids has a DASH bus system that provides rides throughout the downtown area, it needs to be more visitor-oriented, Kaatz said. "Visitors don't like to take buses and half of them don't even know DASH exists," he said.

* Create downtown trail heads aimed at connecting bicycle and walking trails that converge in the downtown area. Once those trailheads are in place, Kaatz

recommended increasing the marketing budget to promote Grand Rapids status as an outdoor adventure destination.

Asked about the impact of Michigan winters on outdoor recreation, Kaatz reminded his audience he lives in Minneapolis.

"Weather is something we can live with," he said.