ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — A new 65,000-square-foot ice rink opened its doors Friday to the excitement of young fans in Ashwaubenon.
The Schneider family cut the ribbon on the new Donald and Patricia Schneider Family Arena at Cornerstone Community Center, as a crowd clapped and celebrated the opening.
Growing demand in programming at Cornerstone launched a donor campaign to build a fourth rink.
"The girls side of hockey has just exploded," said Don Chilson, manager of Cornerstone Community Center.
Chilson says the project took two years to reach completion, and over 67 contractors worked on the facility.
The 3,000-seat new arena will host youth skating and hockey groups in addition to the St. Norbert College Green Knight hockey teams.
"It's really the work that those have done before us that have come here and laid the foundation for our program that now puts us in the position to have this facility," noted Cam Fuller, director of athletics at St. Norbert College.
The rink is expected to generate about $7 million in economic revenue across Northeast Wisconsin.
"The tournaments that we have here are always extremely popular," said Chilson. He explained, "They're popular because people love to come, but they're also popular because of the unbelievable facilities that youth hockey gets to play out of."
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For those just starting out in their hockey careers, there is plenty to look forward to as they hit the ice.
"I'm really thankful that they built it all for us," one young skater said.
Girls on the Green Bay Bobcats say it's a dream come true to see the new rink.
"It just makes it amazing for everyone," one player said.
"I think this rink is going to be a lot of fun to play on," mentioned another fan.
Hockey enthusiasts don't have to wait long to see some action on the ice. The St. Norbert College men's hockey team will play their first game on the rink Friday night.
