The recent opening of two of the components of the Credit Union CUPlex had city of North Battleford councillors excited Monday.
Councillor Grace Lang was involved in efforts with the grand opening ceremonies at the Dekker Centre for the Performing Arts and raved about the grand opening during her remarks to council.
"The opening of the Dekker Centre was a phenomenal experience, I think, for everyone who attended," said Lang, who thanked all the volunteers who made the events successful.
"We had volunteers from City Hall to senior citizens to community players, it was amazing the number of people who came out."
Another thing that was amazing, said Lang, was "the lineup at the swimming pool!"
She noted there were lineups at the new Battlefords Co-op Aquatic Centre "out the door onto the driveway. It was phenomenal to see."
Facilities manager Bill Samborski said, "absolutely, it was a lifetime experience to see that. I cannot describe it any other way."
As for rough numbers for the first few days, Samborski said that in terms of leisure swimming, "we put through more people in a week than we have put through in three months" at the old facility. Attendance peaked at 400 to 500 over the weekend, which "equates to 700 to 800 a day," he said.
Samborski also noted the entire Co-op Aquatic Centre was being used. "They're in there from wall to wall, they're not centred in one particular pool," he said.
Samborski also gave the regular CUPlex construction update compiled by Parks and Recreation Director Keith Anderson, who was not at the meeting.
Anderson noted the aquatic centre "had over 3,000 swimmers in the first three days of operation. Saturday, whne the computer was back up and running after a power outage, it was reporting $48 billion in revenue for the day. Seriously. Unfortunately this was just a glitch that has since been fixed."
Three of the four components, including the curling centre, have now attained substantial completion and the field house is still estimated to achieve completion by Nov. 30.
Councillor Ron Crush was enthusiastic about the opening festivities for the aquatic centre and the Dekker Centre, as well as the live broadcast of CTV's Home Town Tour at Rotary Plaza. He referenced his recent tour of Moose Jaw's historic downtown as a comparison.
He noted Moose Jaw officials describe the night when the first mural went up and was displayed at the side of a building with a number of visitors present, a "mural moment" that was seen as a moment when "the community started to grab a hold of a little community pride and embrace what they had."
Crush said the CUPlex openings in the southeast were a similar moment for North Battleford.
"I think what we have happening in the southeast quadrant is a mural moment for North Battleford."
