As it gets closer to opening to the public, praise is growing for Spectra Place.
A tour was held Thursday for a group that included members of the media and city council. They had an opportunity to see first hand the progress of construction on the facility that is expected to open to the public in March.
Councillor Dennis Moore said he was happy with what he saw on the tour and thinks the residents of Estevan will be pleased with their new arena.
"We were told that we were going to be impressed and (I was) totally impressed," said Moore. "The workmanship, the size, the room we have not only for the Bruins but for the public, the concession area it's just amazing what they've done here in what seems to be a short time. I think the general public is going to be totally amazed at the outcome of the new centre."
Although there have been a handful of tours given throughout the construction process, Thursday's sojourn gave people a chance to see more pieces of the facility instead of just a bare shell.
The concession area, that is substantially larger than the one at the Civic Auditorium, and will be able to serve patrons from both the lobby and the concourse, is now beginning to take shape. Substantial progress has also been made on the satellite concession areas, the pro-shop, that will be located on the main concourse and operated by Xs-iV and private suites which are on the arena's mezzanine level.
The group also had the chance to see the completion of another significant milestone as the cement slab for the ice was poured Thursday. Prior to the pouring of the cement, Spectra Place committee chairman Roy Ludwig and city manager Jim Puffalt, who is also a member of the committee, placed a Saskatchewan Roughriders' 100th anniversary loonie at centre ice.
Councillor Lynn Chipley said she also came away from the tour excited. Chipley said what she found encouraging is that the facility is going to be appealing to the eye without going over the top, something the members of council were very cognizant of in the planning stages.
"When I first went in, I was a little bit speechless because it was bigger than I expected," said Chipley. "It's really impressive and yet it really practical. We had a budget, and we had to because we are not a big city. I was talking to one of the construction people from Graham's and he said it is going to be the nicest rink in Saskatchewan for small city hockey. It's absolutely beautiful."
