Sports and Recreation
In Midland, we play as hard as we work. Whether your preferred recreation is a calm walk along a nature trail or a lightning-quick game of tennis, Midland has you covered.
Serious Sports
Mid-Michigan's only minor league baseball team, the
Great Lakes Loons,
landed in the community in April 2007. A single-A affiliate of the Los
Angeles Dodgers, the Loons play at the 5,500-seat Dow Diamond stadium
near downtown Midland, a great place for games during the warmer months
and special events all year.
The
Midland Community Tennis Center is recognized as one of the top 25
tennis facilities in the country and is home to the annual Dow Corning
Women’s Tennis Tournament, an important U.S. Open qualifying tournament that draws top professionals from around the
world. In September 2009, the U.S. Tennis Association named Midland the
#1
Tennis Town in the nation during the 2009 U.S.
Open in New York.
The
Midland Soccer Club has served over 5000 families in its 32 years of operation. It is the most comprehensive club in Michigan with over 30 fields across 54 acres and programs for youth recreation, youth select and adults in the spring, summer and fall. The Soccer Club currently hosts two regional tournaments that draw over 10,000 players, families and friends.
Unofficially the “World Softball Capital,” Midland continually hosts state, national and international softball tournaments. In 2004, the USA Softball Women's National Team visited Midland for a scrimmage against the Midland Lady Explorers. Midland was the only stop in Michigan for the U.S. team that won the gold during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. In 2008, Midland again hosted the women's Olympic team in a rousing game against the Lady Explorers.
Skaters can enjoy Midland's three indoor ice-skating rinks at its 107,000-square-foot
Midland Civic Arena, which opened in September 2005. The facility features a total of three rinks: two NHL-sized and one Olympic-sized. Bikers can check out the City's BMX bike track, located at the Stratford Woods Park.
The
Midland Community Center provides everything from racquetball courts, to a curling center, to a 20,000-square-foot indoor leisure pool. Two public golf courses with a total of 54 holes and two community pools round out a community with outstanding facilities.
Parks and Recreation
The City of Midland maintains
72 City parks on 2,700 acres of land. Small neighborhood parks nestled within residential areas are found throughout the city so that each neighborhood has a unique place for family recreation. While neighborhood parks are just right for small gatherings, larger groups can enjoy the amenities of several big parks in the city. Two of the community's largest parks, Emerson and Plymouth, are favorites for softball diamonds, sheltered picnic areas, playgrounds, and - at Plymouth Park - a pool.
Midlanders can also enjoy getting back to nature just outside the city at the
Chippewa Nature Center, a private center open to the public year-round. Since its foundation in 1966, the Nature Center has grown from its original 198-acre parcel to include over 1,200 acres, 40 staff members and hundreds of volunteers. Over 50,000 people visit the Nature Center each year.
Nature is also found in abundance at Midland’s
Dow Gardens. Spread over 100 acres, Dow Gardens shares with its visitors the landscaping designed for the home of The Dow Chemical Company founder, Herbert H. Dow, in 1899.
Other beautiful natural settings include bike trails at
City Forest and the 30-mile
Pere Marquette Rail-Trail, which is used for walking, running or bicycling; and a recent addition to our community, the four-mile Chippewa Nature Trail, which connects to the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail and serves as another natural, green pathway for recreational enjoyment.