Alfond Sports Stadium

Coordinates: 44°54′18″N 68°40′18″W / 44.90500°N 68.67167°W

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Harold Alfond Sports Stadium
Construction


Former names	Alumni Field (1947–1997)
Location	Orono, Maine 04473
Coordinates	44°54′18″N 68°40′18″W / 44.90500°N 68.67167°W / 44.90500; -68.67167
Owner	University of Maine
Operator	University of Maine
Capacity	10,000
Surface	FieldTurf
Opened	1947
Renovated	1996–98
Reopened	September 12, 1998
Construction cost	$7.5 Million ($14 million in 2023 dollars^[1])
Architect	WBRC Architects
Tenants
University of Maine Football (NCAA) (1946–present)

Harold Alfond Sports Stadium is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Orono, Maine.^[2] The stadium hosts Morse Field, and the Beckett Family Track and Field Complex. It is the home of the University of Maine Black Bears football team.

History

The stadium opened as Alumni Field in 1947 and underwent extensive renovations from 1996 to 1998. The wood and steel grandstands, built in the 1940s, were condemned and demolished in 1996, replaced with the current east grandstand, along with a temporary structure on the west side, adjacent to Alfond Sports Arena. The current west grandstand, lights, press, and luxury levels, as well as concessions and restroom amenities, were completed prior to the 1998 season.

The stadium was rededicated to Harold Alfond, a longtime Maine booster, at Maine's first home night game on September 12, 1998, a 52-28 win over New Hampshire in the Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket. The field is named for Phillip and Susan Morse, who donated the lights, original Astroturf and scoreboard. In the summer of 2008, new FieldTurf was installed to replace the old AstroTurf. In 2014, a 20-by-32-foot (6.1 m × 9.8 m) HD video-board replaced the matrix display installed in 1998, and a contemporary scoreboard was installed on the north end.

References

^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^ "Morse Field at Harold Alfond Sports Stadium". goblackbears.com. Retrieved 2017-08-01.

External links

Maine Black Bears football

v t e Maine Black Bears football
Venues	Alfond Sports Stadium (1947–present) Fitzpatrick Stadium (alternate)
Bowls & rivalries	1965 Tangerine Bowl New Hampshire: Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket
Culture & lore	Black Bear Sports Network
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

University of Maine

UMaine

Athletics

Teams	Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Football Men's ice hockey Women's ice hockey
Arenas and stadiums	Alfond Sports Arena Alfond Sports Stadium Mahaney Diamond Memorial Gymnasium