Ottawa hockey dignitaries said they hope the city's new Rink of Dreams will begin to inspire young athletes when it opened Wednesday evening.
The rink at Ottawa's City Hall was opened at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday with a ceremony that included Hockey Canada, the Ottawa Senators and a live broadcast of CTV Ottawa's News at 6.
Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Kilrea said the new ice surface should help create more dreams for children who skate upon it.
"When they pull on skates they all want to go to the National Hockey League," said the former coach and general manager of the Ottawa 67's. "When I grew up that's what I played on, the outdoor rinks . . . luckily I got good enough to at least survive and go on and have fun, I had fun all my life.
"It's where hockey dreams begin for kids," said Ottawa Senators president Cyril Leeder.
The artificial ice surface is three-quarters the size of an NHL rink and is refrigerated, so it can be used in temperatures up to 10 C and open from mid-November to March most years.
Much like rinks hosting Canada at international hockey competitions, there are three tokens buried underneath the ice: pins from the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Senators and a 20th anniversary Senators pin.
"The fact that it's an acrylic dasher board that lights up at night, I think it will be a spectacular backdrop in the evenings," Leeder said.
The City of Ottawa paid $250,000 of the $2.4 million price tag, with cost over-runs covered by the Sens Foundation.
"We're doing it in Canada's capital, outdoor skating is a winter past time so what better place to do it than City Hall," said Danielle Robinson with the Sens Foundation. "That's why this one really is a skating rink, that's the basic skill you need to become a hockey player."
"I think it's really cool because the Senators donated the money to do it and it's refrigerated," said one child.
The Sens foundation said they plan to build 19 more rinks around the city.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem
