The nearly 50-year-old Riverview Ice House, where a $9 million renovation is mostly complete but still under way, celebrated its official reopening this week with a professional Ice Hogs hockey game, a plaque unveiling and round of speeches, hugs and high-fives.

State Senator Steve Stadelman delivered $2.5 million to a coalition effort to keep the Ice House from closing. That effort included private contributions led by a $1 million gift from Peter and Heather Provenzano and the Rockford Park District borrowing $6 million to replace the aging arena's obsolete refridgeration system and the dasher boards and glass surrounding the rinks, renovate and expand locker rooms and make mechanical, safety and other upgrades.

"Riverview Ice House needed to stay open as an important component of downtown Rockford's commercial, residential and economic mix and for the families who have enjoyed a centrally located ice facility for nearly 50 years," Stadelman said. "Economic growth of the entire region depends on the strength of Rockford's urban core, and I was committed to the state making a substantial contribution of funds to keep Riverview's doors open for decades to come."

Stadelman commended Park District leaders, private-sector donors and hockey and skating enthusiasts for their teamwork and for recognizing the Ice House as a valuable recreational facility and downtown asset worth saving.

"You can have roads, but unless you have great amenities in your community -- places to go, places to hang out, things to do -- it really doesn't matter," Stadelman said during an outdoor re-dedication ceremony that featured confetti and food trucks. "You want to be a place where people want to move to, where businesses want to go."

Stadelman secured an additional $250,000 in state funding to pay for improvements still underway including restroom renovations, new flooring, window replacement, exterior tuckpointing and landscaping.

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