The City of Red Deer celebrated the opening of Setters Place at Great Chief Park on Saturday, a recreation area that was built to keep residents active all year round.

Setters Place includes a new pavilion with larger change rooms and space for special events. As well, a new synthetic sports field for soccer and football, with a 400-metre speed skating oval built on top during the winter.

Shelley Gagnon, manager of recreation, parks and culture at the city, said user groups cannot wait to start booking space at the facility.

“We have had lots of phone calls. Before the snowfall, we had some of our local teams do some practices on the new turf and they are just itching to get back here,” Gagnon said.

Children playing a game called "Broomball" during the Setters Place grand opening on Saturday.

The construction company, JT Setters and Sons, was announced as the name sponsor for the facility in December.

From design to construction, the project cost was about $12 million. The federal government contributed $3 million as part of funding the 2019 Canada Winter Games.

During those Games, Setters Place will host long track speed skating.