ANGOLA, Ind. -- Construction workers began building walls of the new Thunder Ice Arena on the Trine University campus yesterday.

Scheduled to open in Fall 2017, the arena will be the home for Trine's men's and women's hockey teams. The arena also will host club and youth hockey programs for the Steuben County YMCA and local school corporations, and will be open to the public for skating at designated times.

Thanks to the generosity of donors, the project has recently been the recipient of significant financial support. Steel Dynamics Foundation, Inc. made a $1.25 million gift towards the construction of the arena. Chuck and Lisa Surack and Sweetwater have also pledged $300,000 to the project.

In recognition of Steel Dynamics' generosity, the arena's NCAA-compliant ice surface officially will be named the Thunder Steel Dynamics Ice Runk, with the company's logo prominently displayed on center ice. In recognition of Chuck and Lisa Surack and Sweetwater's gift, the Sweetwater logo will be displayed below the Trine T on center ice.

The Thunder Ice Arena also received funding from Indiana Economic Development Corporation as part of Indiana's Regional Cities Initiative. The IEDC approved $2.8 million in funding for the Thunder Ice Arena and MTI Center projects.

Fans can view live construction updated by visiting the construction webcam HERE.