GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Grand Rapids’ new volleyball team announced its name Friday: the Grand Rapids Rise.

The team is the first major-league women’s sports team in West Michigan, Grand Rapids Rise said in a release. It announced its name during a Grand Rapids Griffins game.

The Pro Volleyball Federation team’s logo is red, blue and gold and includes a phoenix.

The Grand Rapids Rise logo. (Courtesy Grand Rapids Rise)
The Grand Rapids Rise logo. (Courtesy Grand Rapids Rise)

“The phoenix, in addition to having mythological similarities to the Griffins, the Rise’s sibling American Hockey League team, also has ties to the city’s history, as the Phoenix Furniture Company was one of the largest furniture manufacturers in Grand Rapids in the late 1800s and early 1900s,” the team said in the release.

The team held a contest to come up with the name. A total of 2,132 names were submitted; five people submitted the name ‘Rise.’

Grand Rapids Rise revealed its name and logo at the Griffins game on April 14, 2023. (Andrew McDonald/WOOD TV8)
Grand Rapids Rise revealed its name and logo at the Griffins game on April 14, 2023. (Andrew McDonald/WOOD TV8)

“Grand Rapids has long been a city on the rise, and our team’s name and imagery encapsulate both our region’s continued rebirth and the new trails that we’re blazing in women’s professional sports,” Cole DeVos, the son of Rise owner Dan DeVos, said in the release. “We’re proud to provide the first opportunity that our amazing athletes have had to stay home and play right here in the United States, and we can’t wait to help grow the sport of professional volleyball in West Michigan.”

Grand Rapids Rise will begin playing in January of 2024. For more information, go to grrise.com.