Allegan Event has added a new outdoor attraction at its family entertainment complex between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Allegan Event Marketing Manager Gerah Dutkiewicz says nine holes of minigolf have been added to its Adventure Mini Golf course in addition to the nine completed last year, bringing the number of holes guests can play now to a full 18.
Allegan Event is owned by LiggettVille, which operates multiple adventure ropes and climbing facilities around the U.S. with equipment manufactured at RCI Adventure Products, just across the street from Allegan Event. RCI is another entity of LiggettVille, which is also headquartered in Allegan. “RCI Adventure Products has been in business over 30 years, building and installing adventure attractions all over the world: on cruise ships, in family entertainment centers, zoos, parks, and a couple are inside malls,” Dutkiewicz explains. “RCI Adventure Products builds, engineers, and designs, whereas at LiggettVille, we operate and market and staff and basically run these family entertainment centers around the country.”
For example, LiggettVille has a high ropes course and climbing walls at the Shops at Rivercenter on the San Antonio River Walk in Texas. Another LiggettVille attraction is housed in a furniture store in New Haven, Connecticut, where guests can enjoy a four-story adventure ropes course connected by zip rails.
Allegan Event itself opened in 2018. Starting out with an adventure ropes course and climbing walls—16 climbing walls in all—it grew to feature food and snacks, a bar with adult beverages, and an arcade with games and prizes. “Then we expanded. … Out back, there’s a beautiful kind of beer garden vibe with outdoor patio seating and sun shades covering that area,” Dutkiewicz explains. “There’s a stage for live music … mazes, then the Adventure Mini Golf, and there’s an outdoor ticketing or concessions area as well so people can buy snacks and drinks and things outdoors.”
While an appealing destination for families, Allegan Event frequently hosts groups attending conferences nearby—Kalamazoo is about 30 minutes away, with Grand Rapids a little farther—for corporate retreats and team building. Customer Service and Sales Representative Becky Fletcher says meeting planners can take over the entire facility or just book parts of it. “We offer discounted packages like buyouts where they’re the only ones in the facility with optional food packages—specific things for groups depending on what their needs are,” she says. “It’s a great way to bond as a group and just have fun together.”
Being that Allegan Event is in such close proximity to and part of the corporation that owns RCI, it’s often the first place to receive the latest and greatest in adventure recreation attractions. “They are able to bring the newest creations by the manufacturer to Allegan Event,” Dutkiewicz says. “New things are always coming.”
