Dartmouth's much-anticipated 4-rink arena opens this evening

After 18 months of construction, the $43-millionfour-arena complex in Dartmouth is scheduled to open this evening.

The Zambonisare standing by, the ice is in and players arekeen to be the first to cut the surface with their blades.

Doors are scheduled to open at 5 p.m., said project manager Darren Young.

Thecouncillorfor the area saidhe's been fielding lots ofanxious calls since Labour Day.

"There's lots of excitement," said TonyMancini."The iceis already booked, the leagues are organized and waitingto go."

The Dartmouth four-pad is located at 259 Commodore Dr. in theBurnsidearea, next to a beach volleyballfacility and an all-weather sports field.

There are threeNHL-sized rinks and one Olympic-sizedarena, which includes a storage area for the speed-skating community.

There are also 30 dressing rooms for referees and players, including fourat one end of the complex that will be available for the teamsthat use the sports field.

And while the ice and dressing rooms will soon be in use, work willbe ongoing on some of the finishing touches,such as the entrancewayand publicart in the front lobby, the upstairs canteen and theoutside connections to the adjacent sports field.

City looking for a name

Meanwhile, the municipality has put out a call for naming rights forthe building.Interested corporations can buy the rights for a nameon the overall complex, as well as the individual rinks and the twomeeting rooms.

Mancinithinks companies will beinterested because of the location.

"Burnside is the mecca of business in HRM and we're very close to the Dartmouth Crossing [retaildistrict]," saidMancini. "It's really attractive."

Applications for names mustbe in by Oct. 5. Council has thefinal say and that's expected by the end of December.