BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO) — Belvidere’s outdoor ice arena is back in business.

One of their biggest events was able to be held Monday night after some rescheduling. The weather was perfect, not too cold out, plus the kids had the day off from school.

It was a great time to hang out with the Rockford IceHogs and Hammy, especially now that the rink has reopened.

“We obviously love the ice rink here in Belvidere, and the more people that can come down and experience the ice rink is awesome for us and for them as well,” said Taylor Kuchenreuter, facilities supervisor for the Belvidere Park District.

Some Rockford IceHogs players, and of course “Hammy,” were at Riverside Outdoor Ice Arena at Doty Park on Monday to hang out.

“They were going to come out and use the ice to run a whole practice for an hour, but now since they’re kind of getting towards playoff season, it’s getting warmer outside, they’re just going to bring out a couple players and Hammy,” Kuchenreuter said. “So, we can still hang out with the IceHogs for a while and do a meet-and-greet.”

The event had to be rescheduled multiple times. The arena’s chiller compressor broke two weeks ago, forcing the facility to temporarily shut down. It reopened at the end of last week.

“We got the chiller compressor replaced in a timely manner. We’ve been able to carry out a whole weekend full of events. We’re finishing off the round tonight with the IceHogs,” said Jen Jacky, executive director of the Belvidere Park District. “So, we’re very excited.”

The IceHogs coming to town was just one of the highlights.

“They were all great events,” Jacky said. “All wonderful, from rentals to ’90s Night’ to ‘Skate With The Police.'”

The park district said that events with the IceHogs always bring out a lot of people from the stateline.

“For the IceHogs, yes, and a lot of people from Rockford and the local surrounding areas will come out just because the IceHogs are that cool staple hockey team from Rockford that everybody knows and loves,” Kuchenreuter said.

The ice arena plans to be open until mid-March, weather permitting.