MUSKEGON, Mich. — Muskegon's city commission meeting lasted more than four hours on Tuesday night. The biggest issue up for a vote: Changing the name of the L.C. Walker Arena to the Mercy Health Arena.
The city announced in October that Mercy Health was going to be the new sponsor of the arena. New signs with the new name were part of the 15-year naming rights agreement costing Mercy Health $100,000 annually—or $1.5 million over the course of the agreement.
For the last 59 years, the arena has been named after a Muskegon industrialist and philanthropist, Louis Carlisle Walker, who made considerable impacts on the area. He was a contributor to the $1.5 million arena in 1960.
The announcement was controversial, with the community pushing back on the decision. An online petition was even started to stop the name change. It garnered over 3,000 signatures.
Tuesday night, the public had the opportunity to weigh in on the decision again. Two sticking points among the community and some of the city commissioners were the historical nature of the name L.C. Walker Arena and the religious symbols that are a part of the Mercy Health logo.
Between these two issues, the city commission dragged into the evening, wrapping up after 9:30 p.m.
City leaders have said Mercy Health's sponsorship of the arena will help keep it open, especially in the wake of recent expensive upgrades.
When it finally came down to the highly anticipated vote, the approval only required four people to vote yes. Only four commissioners and the mayor had the opportunity to vote on the proposal before it passed.
Commissioners Ken Johnson, Byron Turnquist, Dan Rinsema-Sybenga and Mayor Stephen Gawron all voted yes. Commissioner Willis German Jr. voted no.
Two commissioners didn't get the opportunity to vote before the name change was approved: Eric Hood and Debra Warren.
Mercy Health issued this statement about the name change:
"Mercy Health is proud to support the arena and help ensure that this community asset is here for generations to come. This is an opportunity for us to continue investing in a community we care deeply about, a place where our patients and our colleagues come and enjoy many offerings from this arena."
You can watch the entire discussion and city commission meeting here:
Other stories on 13 ON YOUR SIDE:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.