Kate Borders said, "Everyone sees it and they are blown away, they can't believe the size of it, they can't believe it's real ice."
For the past few weeks crews have been busy building the 6-thousand square foot outdoor ice rink.
With the recent hot temperatures, machines have been working hard to make sure the ice was set and ready to go for skaters on Friday's opening day. Plenty of people who work downtown have noticed the transformation.
Greg Streets said, "I think it's good for the community and good for the people downtown and brings back the life to downtown.
The ice rink is located near the clock on Fulton Mall's Mariposa Plaza.
The Downtown Partnership and Community Regional Medical Center sponsored the rink both with one goal in mind:
Kate Borders said, "There are people out there that haven't been downtown in forever, so we're hoping this is the thing that make them bridge that gap and decide to come downtown to check out a real ice rink."
And after a skate around the rink, local businesses hope they slide inside their doors.
Although this is the first year for the downtown ice rink, officials are hoping the idea really catches on and that Valley families make this a winter tradition for years to come.
