The $50 million renovation of the University of Maine’s Alfond Arena in Orono is ahead of schedule, and UMaine director of athletics Jude Killy said there will be “substantial completion” when the school’s men’s and women’s hockey teams play their first games at the arena on the weekend of Oct. 10-11.
He also said the New Balance Track and Field and Soccer Complex is on schedule and should be completed this fall.
Killy said the original target date for the completion of the Alfond Arena renovations was “no later than the end of December.’’
But things progressed smoothly to the point where Killy said when the fans show up on that Oct. 10-11 weekend, it will feel like the renovation is complete to them because any remaining upgrades will be behind the scenes and not noticeable to them.
The Shawn Walsh Hockey Center will include a 42-seat film room, state-of-the-art locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams; a player development center with first-class sports medicine and strength and conditioning areas; expanded lounges and equipment rooms and new and renovated offices for the coaches and support staff.
The 48-year-old Alfond Arena will have a new entryway and an expanded concourse area with enhanced ticket and concession sales spaces, the UMaine Hockey Hall of Fame and the team store.
The Shawn Walsh Hockey Center and Alfond Arena are undergoing 31,000 square feet of renovations and 21,000 square feet of additions.
“It’s awesome,” said Killy.
The Harold Alfond Foundation gave the university a $170 million gift to upgrade its athletic facilities.
And the estate of late UMaine alums Pierre and Catherine Labat recently supplied the university with a $16 million gift.
“We are very excited about the changes nearing completion at the Alfond,” said UMaine men’s hockey head coach Ben Barr, who guided the Black Bears to their first Hockey East tournament championship since 2004 this past season that earned them a second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.
“We are fortunate to have the best game day experience in college hockey and now we will have a world class facility for our student-athletes as well,” Barr said. “This is a positive step toward becoming a top tier program year in and year out and we are very grateful to the Alfonds and our administration for making this happen.”
UMaine women’s hockey coach Molly Engstrom said the renovations will be a huge boost to their recruiting efforts.
“It’s going to be a game-changer for us,” Engstrom said.
The construction of the New Balance Track and Field and Soccer Complex is going along “really well” said Killy.
“The soccer team will still be playing soccer on Mahaney Diamond at the beginning of the year but they will play some home games (on the new field) in October,” said Killy. “The track will be done this fall but track is a spring sport so they will be able to use it for competition in the spring.”
The defending two-time America East champion UMaine women’s soccer team has four league home games in October: Bryant on Oct. 2, Vermont on Oct. 12, the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Oct. 19 and New Hampshire on the 30th.
Killy said they expect to break ground on the Morse Arena for the basketball teams this winter.
The facility is targeted to be ready for the 2027-28 season.
It is named in honor of Phil and Susan Morse, who donated $10 million to the university’s athletic program.
In addition to the arena, which will seat approximately 2,500 people, there will be offices, locker rooms, a sports medicine area, a strength and conditioning center for the whole athletic department and office space and room for football operations.
The basketball teams currently play in the archaic Memorial Gym, better known as The Pit, which was built in 1933.