A pair of white skates made it official, as a ribbon cutting ceremony for the official opening of Packer Arena was held Thursday.

Austin Area Chamber of Commerce members, city and county officials, representatives from Hormel Foods and Austin citizens gathered in and around a penalty box for the dedication ceremony.

Austin Mayor Bonnie Rietz, former 2nd Ward council member Jeanne Poppe and 1st Ward council member Mickey Jorgenson did the honors by using a pair of white skates to cut the white ribbon.

"Just take a look around and see what has been done for our kids. Isn't it nice? It's just beautiful," Rietz said.

Rietz thanked the county and all the contributors that helped with the construction of the facility.

"It is one of those projects that you search in government because it gets everyone involved," Rietz said.

The arena, which began as a county project, was then picked up by the city, Rietz said.

"It is hard to believe that finally, after 3 1/2 years, it is done. There were a lot of hard decisions made to get to this," said Larry Lyons said, who served as the chair of the building fund.

Lyons said that he had gotten a lot of comments on the facility from other visiting teams, who began using the new ice in late December.

Roxana Orellana can be reached 434-2214 or by e-mail at roxana.orellana@austindailyherald.com