‘It is the heart of our department’: UMaine’s $15.65M gym, field house renovations entering final stages
By Pete Warner, Bangor Daily News, Maine | |
Crews from
UMaine procured a
"It is the heart of our department, with the majority of our programs in the
"It's definitely a project that has and will continue to impact countless people -- between the academic center, the locker rooms and the field house -- for current and future student-athletes and every activity that is held here."
Work on the original scope of the project is nearly complete. Crews are applying roofing on the north side of the field house, are installing decorative brick in the walkway on the west side and are repositioning the granite steps and repaving the access road on the south side of the complex.
However, there are more improvements in the offing. In March, UMaine's
The extensive upgrades inside the
The basketball teams have begun using their new locker rooms, which are now connected to the gym known as "The Pit." They occupy space that previously included a hallway, some offices and storage space.
The locker rooms are carpeted, with individual stalls for each athlete. Each unit includes a shoe basket, a lock box, a pull-out shelf and a space to hang clothing.
The lockers have individual electrical outlets and are ventilated with forced air to help dry clothes and minimize odors. The bathroom area includes toilets and showers.
"It's a huge improvement," said junior basketball player
"We hang out a lot more in the locker room this year than we did last year," Mackey said. "I think it helps out a lot with team chemistry, that and being around the gym."
The locker rooms also have a water bottle filling station and will be equipped with a big-screen TV, a refrigerator and a dry-erase board.
The building has undergone many other changes, including replacing the heating/cooling exchangers and sprinkler system inside the gym. An elevator provides easy access to second-floor seating and offices, while several restrooms have been added throughout the complex.
The basketball coaching staffs have moved down to the first floor, where they will occupy existing office space. Women's basketball head coach
"All of the work to
"The new locker rooms also double as a team meeting room. We can watch video, go over scouting reports and do 'chalk talks' in the room as well," he added.
The most impactful piece of the gym building project may be the new academic center, which is located on the second floor above the football wing. It was formerly a multipurpose room.
The original plan was to use that space for administrative and staff offices. When athletics director
"The idea of aligning office space and aligning organizational functions, there's certainly benefit to that, Creech said. "But when I started to weigh the idea of (that) versus our best use of the space serving student-athlete, there was really no decision to be made there. That's why we went the direction of putting our students first."
UMaine student-athletes now have a quiet, spacious, air-conditioned academic space in which to study and meet. Ann Maxim and the academic support team, along with
There also is a separate conference room.
"The new academic center is fantastic," Barron said. "It shows our department's commitment to academic success and is a benefit to all of our programs."
Creech believes the suite can serve to bring student-athletes together in larger numbers.
"It has the potential to become this great academic and social hub of our athletic facilities," he said.
Next door, UMaine has converted a racquetball court into a large, classroom-style video and meeting room. It can seat up to 24 people. The room has a fixed projector screen and a high-tech video system that can be integrated with computers and phones.
"We've got a great academic center, great locker rooms. We're just trying to get better every day as far as the resources we have and the facilities that we use," said women's basketball junior
She pointed out that the upgrades are coinciding with the resurgence of the women's basketball program and expects them to help in attracting student-athletes.
"We've been doing a lot to turn our program around and rebuild our program," Wood said.
"We're trying to be a top-caliber team and this is an environment to breed top-caliber teams."
Outside, campus visitors are greeted by the blue "M" on the west side of the field house, which sports more than 70 windows around the top, each pane measuring nine feet by six feet. A new entrance and lobby on that side provides access to both buildings.
The brighter field house includes a rubberized track and infield, a spectator seating area, a new circulating/heating system and paint all around. Those renovations were unveiled in January.
That money will enable UMaine to further enhance facilities for women's programs. The soccer team already has relocated to the former women's basketball locker room, while a space in the southeast corner of the complex is undergoing an overhaul.
It will provide larger, upgraded locker rooms for the softball and women's track and field teams. Those improvements should be completed in late December.
"We're really trying to give our women's programs a shot in the arm. They deserve it," Biberstein said.
Barron said the facilities improvements are important to the success of UMaine athletics and a source of pride for all involved.
"We now have much improved on-campus facilities, the nicest arena in the America East and one of the nicest in the northeastern U.S. [Cross Insurance Center], an academic facility to rival any other I have seen, and terrific summer camp facilities with the
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