The long-awaited facility welcomed its first skaters Friday, with officials and longtime advocates celebrating a project that took years to reach the finish line

North Bay’s long-awaited $63-million twin-pad arena and community centre officially opened its doors Friday, marking the end of a project that has been debated, redesigned and worked on for more than a decade.

The facility, now known as WFCU Place, was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Steve Omischl Sports Field Complex on Lakeshore Drive in West Ferris.

“Today, well, I guess we finally made it,” Mayor Peter Chirico told a large crowd.

See: $63M twin pad arena and community centre approved

The facility includes two regulation-sized ice pads, an indoor walking track, community meeting space and 14 dressing rooms. It is designed to support indoor and outdoor recreation year-round.

The city says the project was delivered “on time and on budget.”

See: Is our $63M arena on schedule and on budget?

“After more than a decade of talking about the need for more ice in our community, debating where it should go, what it should look like, and what we could afford, we’re standing here today in front of this brand new recreation facility,” Chirico said.

But Chirico said the building is about more than hockey and skating.

“This is a community centre. It’s a place for our kids and grandkids to learn to skate. It’s a place for athletes to compete,” the mayor said. “It’s a place for families to spend time together. It is a place for seniors to stay active and for community groups to gather and for people from across North Bay to come together.”

The opening weekend includes free public skating, shinny, fitness and drop-in activities, family activities, demonstrations and games from local sports and community groups.

For some people involved in the project, seeing the doors open was the culmination of years of work.

Mike Finner, a longtime recreation advocate and member of the advisory committee that studied a new multi-use recreation facility, said he was “ecstatic” to see the project completed.

“We’ve waited for this a long, long time,” Finner said.

Finner noted how the project went through several different versions over the years. He estimated he took part in 20 to 25 meetings a year for about two decades.

“I had dark hair when we started,” he joked.

He said he was pleased with the finished facility.

“It looks awesome, really,” he said. “When I think of it right now, it looks like a perfect place.”

See: User fees finalized as North Bay’s new twin-pad centre prepares to open

The first skaters were already on the ice Friday as the opening weekend got underway.

Jordan Hamelin, 39, was among the first people to step onto the new ice.

“It felt like a dream,” Hamlin said, adding that the first loop “didn’t feel real.”

The project was funded through contributions from all three levels of government and other sources.

The federal government contributed more than $35 million through two funding programs, while Ontario provided $2 million through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. The city also directed $1.5 million in Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. revenue through Cascades Casino North Bay and $1.5 million in Municipal Accommodation Tax revenue toward the project.

The city says the taxpayer-funded share is about $23 million after those contributions are excluded.

The building was designed with sustainability in mind and is among the first full-sized recreational facilities in Canada to meet the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Design V3 standard, according to the city.

See: Proposed name for new twin-pad arena and community centre

For Chirico, the facility is intended to serve the community well beyond the current generation.

“This will provide facilities for not just today, not just my kids, not just my grandkids, but their kids for the next 50 to 60 years,” he said.

Finner said he expects to return to watch the community use the facility.

“I’ll be here, definitely,” he said. “I’ll be dropping in, not in terms of saying it’s mine, just in terms of the city enjoying what they have.”

The opening celebration continues through Sunday.