River Valley Church Plans To Acquire, Transform Maple Grove WhirlyBall Venue

River Valley Church, a Twin Cities-based Christian megachurch with multiple locations, has plans to acquire the WhirlyBall entertainment venue in Maple Grove to use for worship service, city planning documents revealed.

The Maple Grove Planning Commission will review the plan at its meeting tonight, July 27.

According to the documents, River Valley Church seeks to acquire the WhirlyBall building, located at 13644 80th Circle N., northwest of The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes.

A project narrative shows River Valley Church would transform the 30,000-square-foot-plus WhirlyBall building to include a main worship space, classrooms and administrative offices. Attendance is approximately 300 people across two Sunday morning services, the document showed. 

No structural modifications are proposed to the building, but River Valley Church plans upgrades for the parking lot and landscaping, the narrative revealed.

The project requires city council approval of a planned united development (PUD) amendment since the property is located in a business PUD zone. City staff recommends approval.

“The Comprehensive Plan acknowledges that Maple Grove’s growth trajectory will place greater emphasis on industrial and residential planned unit developments, with lesser emphasis on retail growth,” city planning documents noted. “In that context, this proposal represents a responsible adaptive reuse of an existing commercial building that might otherwise sit underutilized as retail demand shifts.”

WhirlyBall is located at 13644 80th Circle North in Maple Grove/photo credit CCX News

River Valley Church was founded in 1995 in Apple Valley. It has since expanded to 11 Minnesota locations. The church has had a Maple Grove presence since 2022 and currently rents space at Weaver Lake Elementary, according to its website. It also previously rented spaced at the WhirlyBall Maple Grove location.

The church previously considered constructing a new campus in 2023 at Arbor Ridge Parkway and 101st Avenue North. 

CCX News reached out to the owner of WhirlyBall for further comment but had not heard back as of this publishing. However, in a press release Friday to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, WhirlyBall Twin Cities confirmed it is evaluating a proposal to sell the property and, if completed, would consolidate operations to its flagship location in Bloomington. The business would continue normal operations in Maple Grove until Sept. 7 (Labor Day), the Business Journal reported, citing the press release. 

WhirlyBall opened in Maple Grove in 2012, offering a unique form of entertainment in the area. WhirlyBall uses bumper cars and blends aspects of lacrosse, hockey and basketball into a game. The venue replaced the former Mann Theatre building.

Maple Grove