It's been a while coming, but the all-weather track at the Colin Pugh Sports Bowl got its formal opening on Friday evening.
Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairarapa general manager P J Devonshire led a formal walk-on for guests, councillors, sponsors, athletes and supporters, followed by Masterton mayor Lyn Patterson declaring the ground formally open with a crack from a starter's pistol.
Wairarapa All Weather Track Trust chairman Jonathan Hooker said discussions to create the track started in 2007, with the trust forming in 2008.
Local firm Oldfields began construction work in 2011, on a site that was largely old riverbed.
Because the original grass track had been marked out to international standards, the new track was placed exactly on that footprint.