Posted by Caitlin M. Foyt | The Grand Rapids Press

GRAND RAPIDS -- Van Andel arena will be temporarily renamed after classic hard rock band Van Halen.

A crowd of 30 WLAV-FM listeners and Van Andel officials gathered in front of the downtown arena, 130 W. Fulton St., around 11 a.m. as Mayor George Heartwell cut a ribbon to celebrate the newly named "Van Halen Arena" and declared today "Van Halen Day" in Grand Rapids.

"West Michigan is home to countless people of Dutch heritage with phone books replete with names beginning with "Van" - a place where a people called Van Halen can feel at home," he said in his proclamation, which was read live on WLAV.

Kevin Matthews of the classic rock station led a petition to rename Van Andel arena in the weeks following the change of the originally scheduled concert date, April 5. The show was postponed due to Eddie Van Halen's undisclosed medical complications.

Van Halen will perform to a sold-out crowd tonight at 8 p.m. today at the newly renamed Van Halen Arena.

"It's the last day of the tour and it's only fitting that we have this big celebration for the band," said Christina Elsenbroek, marketing director for WLAV-FM.

"Van Halen has been a part of programming for years, since the beginning of WLAV. We've basically been promoting the concert as happening at Van Halen Arena."

The temporary name change involved obtaining special permission from the band, the Van Andel Family and the city.

"The Van Andel family agreed to the renaming of the arena for the day," Heartwell said. "It's fitting to celebrate a Dutch name in a Dutch city."

In his proclamation, Heartwell noted Van Halen's connections to the city of Grand Rapids: 1978 was the "Year of Running" with the inauguration of the River Bank Run and the introduction of Van Halen's now classic "Running with the Devil."

Grand Rapidians participated in the first Celebration on the Grand in 1981, a week-long city celebration centering at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, while Van Halen was rocking down "Mean Street" on "Sunday Afternoon in the Park" pondering "So This is Love?"

In 1996, while Grand Rapids debuted the Van Andel Arena, a venue that was "just begging for Dutch performers such as Van Halen." At the time, the band was putting the finishing touches on their "Best of Volume 1" record.

While WLAV has not heard a single complaint about the arena's temporary name change, Heartwell anticipates mixed reactions from the people of the city.

"I know that there will be those who will be delighted and those who will question my sanity."

Press Photo / Adam Bird
Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell reads a proclamation, surrounded by people from radio station WLAV, in front of the Van Andel Arena. The mayor proclaimed the arena renamed Van Halen Arena, but only for today in honor of the band's show tonight.

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