Van Andel Arena Seating Chart
Van Andel Arena is the centerpiece of downtown Grand Rapids, home to the AHL Griffins and a regular stop for arena concert tours and family shows. The compact bowl keeps fans close to the action and has driven much of the city's downtown revival since 1996.
Sections at Van Andel Arena
The Van Andel Arena chart lists 6 main sections, and the one on your ticket does most of the deciding — price, distance, and view included. Scan the list before you buy, keeping in mind that the event type reshuffles the room: concerts, games, and private buyouts each open different parts of the house.
- Lower bowl 100s — full ring around the ice and stage
- Suite level — premium boxes ringing the mid-tier
- Upper bowl 200s — second deck wrapping the building
- Glass seats — boards-level rows for hockey
- End-stage floor sections for concerts
- Standing-room rails on the concourse
Best seats at Van Andel Arena
For Griffins games, lower sections 103-106 near center ice give a clean view at a fair price. For concerts, the 100-level sections facing the stage stay close, while center upper-bowl rows keep the whole stage in frame.
Tips before you go
Downtown ramps on Ottawa and Weston put you a short walk from the doors. The upper bowl is steep but every seat points at the floor, and the arena's central location means dinner and post-show drinks are all within a few blocks.
How to read the Van Andel Arena seating chart
The Van Andel Arena chart divides 12,000 seats in a bowl that wraps a central court, rink, or stage across 6 named sections — Lower bowl 100s, Suite level, Upper bowl 200s, Glass seats, End-stage floor sections for concerts, and Standing-room rails on the concourse. Which of those names is printed on your ticket decides more than location: two sections apart can mean a different level, a different price bracket, and a different side of the room entirely.
Every Van Andel Arena seat is really the sum of three choices: how close you are to the floor, whether you face the action square on or from a baseline, and how high you sit. Put Standing-room rails on the concourse and Lower bowl 100s side by side and the gap shows up immediately — in level, in price tier, and often in which half of the Grand Rapids room you land in. The best-seats notes above settle it for Van Andel Arena; just verify section, row, and seat on the official map before you pay.
Some context on size — Van Andel Arena's 12,000 capacity places it 7th among the 13 Michigan venues in this guide; Crisler Center (12,707) is the next size up, Dow Event Center (5,300) the next size down.
Building a seating chart for an event at Van Andel Arena
If your event lands at or near Van Andel Arena — a corporate block, a reception, a team dinner — start from the venue's real geography: sections like Lower bowl 100s and Standing-room rails on the concourse and the tiers around them set the footprint. Rebuild that footprint in the maker with rounds for the dinner, rows for the program, and a head table where the format wants one, then assign guests and export a PDF for the Grand Rapids event-services team. You won't need anywhere near the full 12,000-seat configuration; private blocks live in clubs, suites, and adjacent banquet rooms — exactly the scale the tool handles.
Hosting a private event at Van Andel Arena?
From dinner rounds to program rows to head tables, lay out your Van Andel Arena event the way the room will actually run. The maker supports up to 500 seats and exports a print-ready PDF for the Grand Rapids venue's event staff.
Open the seating chart generatorFrequently asked questions
- How many seats does Van Andel Arena hold?
- 12,000 at full configuration. In practice the number depends on the event — sections open and close between a concert and a daytime show — and a private buyout uses just the sections booked, usually a club or a suite out of the 6 on the Grand Rapids chart.
- What are the best seats at Van Andel Arena?
- For Griffins games, lower sections 103-106 near center ice give a clean view at a fair price. For concerts, the 100-level sections facing the stage stay close, while center upper-bowl rows keep the whole stage in frame.
- What sections does Van Andel Arena have?
- Main sections include: Lower bowl 100s — full ring around the ice and stage; Suite level — premium boxes ringing the mid-tier; Upper bowl 200s — second deck wrapping the building. Full breakdown in the sections list above.
- Where is Van Andel Arena located?
- Van Andel Arena sits in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For the exact street address, parking, and the transit stop nearest sections like Lower bowl 100s, check the official Van Andel Arena site before the day — Grand Rapids venues differ on gate, lot, and rideshare access.
- How do I plan a private event at Van Andel Arena?
- Map it in the Seat Chart App maker below: start from Van Andel Arena's own layout — sections like Lower bowl 100s and Standing-room rails on the concourse — drop tables to match your event's footprint, assign guests, and export a PDF the Grand Rapids event-services team can set up from.