A mihi whakatau was held on Saturday morning to officially open the centre, with more than 300 people attending.
Waitaki Event Centre Trust chairman Kevin Malcolm said officially opening the event centre was "exceptionally emotional".
"It’s been a lot of hard work and the rally of the community to support it ... it’s been a powerful ride.
"The result here today, to see so many people for an opening so early in the morning and so many people now will be going to enjoy it, is just incredible."
The opening was the first time members of the public were able to go inside and see the event centre in its entirety.
"We’ve just seen a white shell, haven’t we?
"But no-one’s been in to realise the scale, the scope, the quality."
Te Rūnanga o Moeraki and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu chairman Justin Tipa opened the mihi whakatau and was followed by speeches from key stakeholders.
Te Pākihi o Maru students also performed a waiata.
Mr Malcolm received a standing ovation from those in attendance after finishing his speech.
North Otago Netball made first use of the event centre as they held senior competition matches in the facility on Saturday and also held a regional under-16 representative tournament yesterday.
The exciting part was now imagining just how versatile the event centre could be, Mr Malcolm said.
"When we get our grandstand finished, we can have thousands out front and have a concert."
The trust’s work was not done, however, as the event centre was just stage one of the project.
It was now shifting its focus to funding stage two, which was the new grandstand, Mr Malcolm said.
"We’ve got a lot more to do, but the support so far, we’ll keep that going and keep Waitaki great.
"Bring on stage two."
