Parks and Recreation Director Bennett Oliver led the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Tuesday for the long-awaited opening of the Hunter Park Community Center."Today's not about me," he said. "It's about the mayor and the city council for working so hard to make this day come about."

After the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and plaque unveiling an open house was held for the community to check out the new building.

The 16,000 square foot facility includes a 140-person ballroom, meeting rooms available for the public to rent, two classrooms, and arts and crafts room and a dance studio. Built-in audio/visual equipment is available in three of the rooms. A full-service kitchen can be used in conjunction with either the ballroom or meeting rooms. An arcade is located just off the building's lobby, which offers traditional-style arcade games and vending machines.

"Douglasville has needed a place like this for a while," City Council Member Roy Mims said before the ceremony and ribbon cutting. " Mims has been on the city council and involved with the project since it began eight years ago.

"It's very gratifying," he said. "It's one of the few times you get to touch and feel a project that you've worked on. Roads are nice but places like this are what matter. It's nice to see these type of projects get finished, where the community and families can come together and enjoy them."

Rental of a class room starts at $100 for a half day. The building can also be rented for parties, reunions and other events. Those interested in renting can call the Conference Center Manager at 678-715-6055.

Regional general contractor Benning Construction Company, builder of the new Hunter Park Community Center, has already begun work on Phase II of the Hunter Park improvements.  The upgrades will feature 11 ball fields, including a special-needs field. The special-needs field will be one of only a handful in the state of Georgia and the only such field in west Georgia. Benning also will build a seven-court tennis complex, 650 new parking spots and add new concession areas, upgraded lighting and new bathrooms to Hunter Park.