18th July 2023 an ice arena has opened in Satka. The celebration was attended by Governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast Aleksey Teksler, Chief Officer of Magnezit Group Sergey Korostelev, three-times world champion, silver and bronze medalist of the Olympics, Head Coach of CSKA Sergey Fyodorov, and People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, musician Igor Butman. Guests of honor included veterans and employees of Magnezit Group.

“I am happy to open this wonderful ice arena with you today. I am sure kids and grownups alike will enjoy coming here,” said Aleksey Teksler, “This construction started some years ago, when I learned at a meeting with local people that the town lacked a sport arena with synthetic ice. We’ve made this dream come true together with Sergey Korostelev, Magnezit Group, and the District Administration. We can’t wait for a boom in hockey and figure skating in the District and in many other municipalities. I’m sure this will become a stepping stone for sporting achievements of the young generation!”

Leaders of the region and the town-forming company also hinted at some new joint plans.

“That’s not all. We will build a sports facility in the Western microdistrict. We will decide together with you what it will be,” said Sergey Korostelev to the guests at the celebration. He also thanked everyone present and the Magnezit team for their contribution to building the arena.

“I’m really glad to be here, this town now feels like home to me. It’s a great honor to participate in opening of the ice arena where new talents, new stars will grow. Exercise and sports are the important foundation for our spirit and self-confidence. Way to go!” wished Sergey Fyodorov.

The formal part of the ceremony included another important event – signing of the cooperation agreements between the District Administration and Traktor Regional Hockey Sports School (with Director Yevgeny Lyubimov), and Todes Olympic Reserve Sports School (with Director Vladislav Glazkov). The aim of the agreements is to open hockey and figure skating classes at Satka Ice Arena.

Several special events were organized for the residents and guests of the town on the arena opening day.

Artists from Ice Theater (Yekaterinburg) gave a fabulous performance twice – during the ceremonial opening of the arena with the Governor and during the evening celebration program.

A magical story unfolded on the ice stage and told the audience about the adventures of little girl Masha on her birthday. Together with her friend, a dog called Druzhok, the birthday girl fantasized about wonderful worlds and made wishes. Satka Ice Arena helped those wishes come true and was one of the main characters too, as it celebrated its own birthday. Fairytales came to life on ice one by one: Thumbelina, Little Mermaid, Snow Queen, and others.

“Now I truly know that every dream can come true if it is yours, and real, and beautiful. It’s so nice when everyone around you shares your excitement about a gift. Let’s remember our dreams and make even a little step towards them everyday,” wished Masha to the audience.

The ice arena was like this big dream that came true for the people of the District.

“I liked jellyfish in glowing capes and bogatyrs the most, and the doggy was the funniest,” 7-year-old Anya shares when we ask her about her favorite heroes of the ice show, and then suddenly stops to marvel at a sudden rainbow that adds even more bright emotions to this festive day. While her dad Nikolay Sushin goes on to share his feelings: “The arena turned out to be an unusual and beautiful building for our town. It will bring joy to kids and adults alike. My girl is ready to go ice skating even as we speak. We will definitely come here as a family. And the ice show is great, we loved everything about it!”

“This is a long-anticipated, grand event. The arena and the celebration turned out very colorful and bright. My kid is thrilled, he watched the entire show without a break, he clapped and danced and just about ran onto the ice. We’ve long been waiting for this event and I’m sure the arena will be popular, just like all other creative and learning spaces in our town. Everything is just great! I’m sure we will examine every corner of the ice arena later, we’ll see and explore everything. And we will become frequent guests here. My son has been testing his ice skates on grass almost everyday now, he’s constantly trying them on!” told us Olga Pakhtusova who came to the celebration with her son Grisha.

By the way, the guests met not only figure skaters, but hockey players too. Some of them made an appearance on ice during the arena opening ceremony, some held sporting contests with branded prizes from HC Traktor (Chelyabinsk). Kids who played hockey had an opportunity to meet an honored guest of the celebration – three-times world champion, medalist of the Olympics, Head Coach of CSKA Sergey Fyodorov.

The day ended with a first public ice skating for winners of a contest, held before the opening of the ice arena, where you could win a ticket and have a wonderful evening on new ice with friends and support team. This included young hockey player Platon Platonov who is now in his third year with HC Traktor. He came with his mom from Chelyabinsk especially for the celebration, wearing his branded uniform and drawing figures on new ice with his fast blades, and even had time for answering quiz questions from the host of the evening program and won prizes from Magnezit Group. Everyone on ice could participate and win prizes. Ice skaters had colorful bracelets and magnets with Magnik as memento of the celebration.

Friends Sveta and Katya tried out the ice that evening and told us they had a wonderful time. They were impressed with the size of the area, its design and lighting. And after skating, they had a walk in the public garden at the main entrance of the new building that had welcomed everyone for a while.