The University of Maine men’s hockey team played three games in Portland last season and the America East women’s basketball tournament, involving UMaine, was held in Portland for the first time.

Now the UMaine football team will be returning to Maine’s largest city and Fitzpatrick Stadium for the first time since 2005.

Thanks to a partnership between UMaine, Learfield and the Gorham Savings Bank, the school’s annual Jeff Cole Memorial scrimmage will be held at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Saturday, May 6, at 4 p.m. Then, the Black Bears will play a Colonial Athletic Association regular-season game against Delaware there on Saturday, Nov. 4.

The last time UMaine played a football game in Portland was Oct. 1, 2005, when the Black Bears topped Albany 31-7.

“Portland is a great city. It’s a passionate sports city and playing there could be a major asset to our program,” said UMaine head coach Joe Harasymiak. “We want to engage that community. We are the flagship university and the only Division I school in the state and we want football to be important around the state.

“It has shown to be a good thing for hockey and basketball,” added Harasymiak.

UMaine drew an average of 4,370 fans to its three hockey games in Portland against Boston College, Brown and Notre Dame last winter and has submitted a bid to host an NCAA hockey tournament regional.

The America East Women’s basketball tournament at Cross Insurance Arena, which included the quarterfinals and semifinals, drew an average of 1,561. It was the second-highest total in five years.

The March 4 afternoon quarterfinal session, during which UMaine beat Binghamton and New Hampshire topped Stony Brook, attracted 1,896 fans. It was the largest turnout since 2011 at Hartford.

Gorham Savings Bank was the primary sponsor for the America East tourney.

Harasymiak said the spring game may be a Blue-White intrasquad scrimmage as opposed to an offense vs. defense scrimmage, which had become the norm in recent years.

“Hopefully, we can do that (Blue-White scrimmage),” said Harasymiak. “The challenge is having enough healthy guys to rotate around. We have the numbers to do it (right now).”

Harasymiak said another advantage to playing in Portland is that it’s an easier drive for fans and alumni across the southern part of the state and New England as well as for the parents and families of virtually all the players.

Fitzpatrick Stadium holds 6,300 fans and is the site for three of the four high school football state championship games every year. The facility was renovated in 2015 when the city of Portland replaced the artificial turf with a new layer of GreenFields Turf.

Chris Emmons, the CEO of Gorham Savings, said in a news release that, “bringing UMaine athletics to Greater Portland is a wonderful way to allow fans from this area, who may not make it to Orono as often as they’d like, to see some exciting college games. It’s also a great opportunity to introduce fans from points north and elsewhere to all Portland has to offer. We’re excited to help bring this UMaine athletic event to the area.”

UMaine director of athletics Karlton Creech said in the release that, “we are thrilled to once again partner with Gorham Savings Bank to bring UMaine athletics to our wonderful fan base in southern Maine. The support we receive from Black Bear Nation in Portland is tremendous.

“We sincerely thank Chris Emmons and his staff at Gorham Savings Bank for their gracious backing over the years in joining us to bring the Black Bears to Portland,” added Creech.

UMaine will still play four games in Orono: Bryant University on Sept. 9, the Rhode Island (Oct. 14), William & Mary (Oct. 28) and Stony Brook (Nov. 18).

Season-ticket holders can include the Portland tickets in their package or exchange them for extra tickets to one of the Orono games.

All UMaine students will receive free admission to the Portland game with a MaineCard.

Single-game ticket information will be announced later.