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13-518: The league was founded as "Grand Raggidy Roller Girls" by Tricia "The Vindicator" Woolfenden and Katy "Shutter Speed" Batdorff in 2005. The first public game for Grand Raggidy was held in April 2006 with over 2,000 fans in attendance at the DeltaPlex Arena . Since as far back as 2009, Grand Raggidy has held its home games at Rivertown Sports, with exceptions in 2013 when the venue was flood-damaged. Four of

26-523: A reconstruction of West River Drive, the parking lot was enlarged and Turner Ave. ended at West River Drive. It was the Grand Rapids area's main indoor entertainment facility until the opening of Van Andel Arena in 1996. In the mid-1990s the building was sold to the Langlois Family. After the purchase an extensive, ground-up restoration and remodeling regimen followed and the newly christened DeltaPlex

39-557: The Muskegon Thunder and played at L.C. Walker Arena (in their first two seasons they played in the Continental Indoor Football League ). In 2010, the team moved to Grand Rapids, MI. This is where the downfall of the team took place. The season started off hopeful with a 5–2 record. After week 7 the players were promised money at a later date as long as they played (money that they never received). Starting in 2010

52-861: The Stadium Arena and Grand Rapids Stadium ) was a 5,500-seat multipurpose arena in Walker, Michigan , United States. It was the home of the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League and the Grand Rapids Wanderers of the Major Arena Soccer League 3 . Built in 1952 as The Stadium Arena, the facility was purchased and renovated in the 1990s and was renamed The DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center in 1998. The venue hosted many sporting events, political events, national touring concerts, and expos. The arena

65-545: The 1950s (an NAHL team of the same name played in the building during the 1990s) and the Grand Rapids Owls in the late 1970s until 1980. During the 1960s and early 1970s it was home to Atlantic Mills Department Store. It was also home for a short time to a drive-in theater, known as the Stadium Drive-In Theater. For most of its life it was located at the corner of Turner Ave. and West River Drive. However, due to

78-509: The 2007 WFTDA Eastern Regional Tournament ; they were seeded eleventh and lost in the first round to Gotham Girls Roller Derby , 206-47. They qualified again the following year, going 1–3 on the weekend and finished in tenth place. In 2009 Grand Raggidy qualified for the newly created WFTDA North Central Regional Tournament , seeded seventh, but lost all their bouts to finish tenth. After missing WFTDA Playoffs from 2010–12, Grand Raggdiy qualified for Division 1 Playoffs in 2013, and went 1–2 as

91-734: The ThunderHawks played their home games at the DeltaPlex Arena , in nearby Walker, Michigan . The Thunderhawks did not field a team in 2011. For their first season, the Thunder had Shane Fairfield as head coach. Fairfield was an accomplished local high school football coach, as he led the Holton Red Devils to a conference championship as well as two back to back district championships against Muskegon Catholic. Prior to that he coached his alma mater Muskegon Catholic Central, and Muskegon High School. For their first season with their brand-new identity,

104-729: The head coach and defensive coordinator was Detroit native, Terry Foster. Foster was once a star for the Grand Valley State University team, and played in the Arena Football League for the Grand Rapids Rampage . In 2006, Foster was an assistant coach for the Rampage. Offensive coordinator Brent White almost mirrored Fairfield's path from Muskegon to Holton, playing for the Big Reds from 1999 to 2002 and then stepping off

117-472: The league's skaters appeared as themselves in the movie Whip It! : Dot Matrix, Shutter Speed, Tamara Hurtsworse, and Jackie Daniels, who was recruited after skating for the mixed-league "Team Awesome" in Los Angeles. In 2015, Grand Raggidy updated its name from "Roller Girls" to "Roller Derby", as part of its tenth anniversary season and recognizing the contributions of its members. The league qualified for

130-669: The tenth seed in Fort Wayne and finished in ninth place courtesy of a 186-134 victory over Bleeding Heartland . In 2014, Grand Raggidy competed at Division 2 Playoffs in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario as the tenth seed and went winless to finish in tenth. Grand Raggidy missed Playoffs in 2015 but returned to Division 2 in 2016 as the tenth seed in Lansing, Michigan, but again went winless and finished in tenth place. DeltaPlex Arena The DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center (formerly

143-615: Was a 23,000-square-foot (2,000 m ) space with a 52-foot (16 m) ceiling, and could accommodate up to 8,000 people for concerts . The DeltaPlex was purchased by Visser Brothers Inc. and officially closed on July 31, 2022 to be converted into warehouse space. The original building was constructed in 1952, and was originally named the Stadium Arena. The building had an arched roof design with wooden arch supports instead of steel. The building housed many different tenants including two defunct IHL Hockey teams. The Grand Rapids Rockets in

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156-577: Was announced that the DeltaPlex Arena would close permanently on July 31, 2022. West Michigan ThunderHawks Indoor Football League ( 2009 – 2010 ) The West Michigan ThunderHawks were an indoor football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan . The team was most recently a member of the Indoor Football League . From their inception in 2007 until 2009, the ThunderHawks were known as

169-671: Was born. The arena served as the Grand Rapids chapter of Arena Racing . It also previously hosted the Grand Rapids Flight of the International Basketball League in 2008. In 2010, the DeltaPlex Arena was home to the West Michigan ThunderHawks of the Indoor Football League . The DeltaPlex was the home of the Denver Nuggets ' NBA G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold . On April 27, 2022 it

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