Every part of the Victoria Field House commanded center stage at various times throughout the afternoon and evening of Saturday, March 15th, 2003.  It was a grand Grand Opening.  It was roundly successful.  It was theatric.  It was orchestrated by Victoria for Victoria.
Construction of the $6.2 million facility at Diethelm Park was ap-proved by Victoria city councilmembers exactly one year ago.  The unanimous vote was taken the night of March 14th, 2002, the same night that Tim Forcier echoed the sentiment of most other Victoria residents when he declared, "I'm not one-hundred percent in favor of it.  I'm one-thousand percent in favor of it!"
The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on June 20th, 2002.  Foot-ings were poured in July, 2002.  The first wall panel was set in place on August 9th, 2002.  The last floor tile was laid a few days before the Grand Opening seven months later.
It is a phenomenal building that will serve the residents of Victoria today and for years to come.  Its amenities will be accessible this summer for children and adults who use the softball, baseball, and soccer fields at Diethelm Park. 
It sits comfortably and prominently on old farm acreage just a few blocks south of the handsome $23 million Holy Family Catholic High School, which also replaced an old farm site in 1998.  On all sides of Victoria, amber fields of grain are being replaced with groomed fields for athletics and paved parking spaces ... not to mention hundreds of new homes dotting this once rural landscape.  Victoria city council-members have been trying to guide and direct growth for the common good of current and future residents rather than allowing it to occur randomly and at the whim of developers and fortune seekers.
The new Victoria Field House already serves kids and parents and grandparents who use the impressive array of exercise equipment, make laps on the walking track, play basketball and hit golf balls and baseballs in the huge gymnasium, skate in the ice arena, eat and socialize at the concessions, or simply stop by to be entertained by the daily activities, both scheduled and unscheduled.  It was most recently used in another grand way on March 29th, 2003, for the annual Home and Garden Business Expo sponsored by the Victoria Chamber of Commerce.  The facility is well on its way to becoming Victoria's "community center."
One of the Grand Opening events of March 15th, 2003, placed the classy new ice arena in the spotlight with a league hockey game between national champions and national contenders.  The celebrity hockey game was organized by Bob Carruth, manager of the Victoria Field House. Both teams featured ex-NHL stars.
Later that evening, the ice arena played host to world class Olympic skaters and local talent that performed before another audience of 800.  It was a theater in the round, with the best seats in the house located on the topnotch walking track directly above the ice floor, where spectators and cameras had a panoramic view of choreography across the vast expanse of the arena.  Bleachers put a seat under hundreds of others for excellent viewing, and sponsor-laden tables occupied a portion of the ground floor.
The Victoria Field House will gener-ate applause and ovations for years to come, in ways both spectacular and com-mon.  Its rise on the Victoria landscape is of no little feat, having been constructed and financed without the assistance of dollars from taxpayers outside of Victoria.  Most ballfields and athletic facilities in School District #112 have been paid for with the assistance of the people of Victoria through property taxes paid to the school district.
But the people of the Victoria com-munity are generous, resourceful, and visionary.  When they act, it is without mask or masquerade.  They've come to learn their lines well, and they mean business in this theater in the round.  The applause has just begun.

Find the RELATED Photo Story entitled
"Wow!  The Victoria Field House!"
In Sue's Album.  Click on Home Page.