The sod was officially turned Wednesday to commence the twinning of Pason Centennial Arena.

Two new ice surfaces will be added on to the existing home of not just the Okotoks Oilers, but Okotoks Minor Hockey as well.

Mayor Bill Robertson was on hand for the ceremony and says ice time accommodation close to home is a must for the community.

"Kids are out for practices in neighbouring communities because we cannot accommodate them on our own ice surfaces it's not too bad for older kids but it's far better to have our own ice surfaces and have kids practice here," he says. "It's much safer when there's icy roads in the winter, so I'm very supportive of this project going ahead."

A full sized NHL rink along with additional leisure surface are the main attractions of the facility.

Robertson says the Town spent plenty of time getting the plans right to make sure that needs were met for the future of minor hockey,

"Our town is still is growing so if we were not to build something like this the problem would be that much worse in a couple years."

A special dedication to the Okotoks Hockeyville committee will be part of the eventual construction of the new rinks, where Okotoks came in third place in this year's Hockeyville voting landing the Town a $25,000 donation.

Robertson says the legacy the committee created within the Foothills was phenomenal.

"Even the $25,000 wasn't necessarily as important as all the people getting together to support that. The community involvement was fantastic."

The arenas are projected to be completed and fully operational by January 2018.

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