FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WBRC + Crawford Architects Selected to Design $110M UMaine Athletic Facilities Project
Kansas City, March 30, 2022:
WBRC and Crawford Architects have been selected to design the UMaine Intercollegiate Athletics Facilities. This series of upgrades will transform Maine’s Division I athletic program, advance gender equity and inclusion, and provide a destination for high school sports championships and other community events.
“Together over the next several years, we will be building best-in-class facilities, venues, and stadiums to benefit our student-athletes and the overall UMaine student experience,” said UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy.
These upgraded facilities will also allow UMaine to grow campus offerings in club sports, intramurals, and recreation. The new and renovated facilities will enable the university to host exciting functions such as state high school championships, youth club sport events, and nonathletic events like robotics and band competitions. In all, the goal is to create an athletics footprint at the University of Maine to serve the next generation of students and make these incredible facilities a statewide resource.
The project is anticipated to take place over a 10-year period and includes the following facilities: Softball, Baseball, Women’s Field Hockey Complex, Women’s Soccer Complex, Multipurpose Center with Basketball Arena, Alfond Football Stadium, Harold Alfond Sports Arena, Shawn Walsh Ice Hockey Training Center, Aquatics Center, Indoor Practice Center, Track & Field Complex, and the Memorial Gymnasium.
The University of Maine Athletics Master Plan is part of the UMS TRANSFORMS initiative launched in October 2020 in response to the Harold Alfond Foundation’s historic $240 million commitment to the University of Maine System and the people of Maine. An unprecedented $90 million commitment from this grant, along with a commitment from UMaine to raise an additional $20 million toward the Athletic Facilities project, will support UMaine Athletics. This marks the largest single contribution for athletics at a public university in Maine and among the largest gifts ever nationwide. The athletics grant will go toward capital projects in direct support of the athletics facilities master plan providing support to maintain excellence in the state’s only Division I athletics program and provide accessibility through all sports.
“Words cannot adequately convey our appreciation for the generosity of the Harold Alfond Foundation,” said UMaine Director of Athletics Ken Ralph. “This grant will allow us to enhance the Alfond legacy with the University of Maine and the Black Bears. We will work hard every day to live up to the expectations Harold Alfond has for the university and the statewide impact of the athletic department.”
Multiple phases are anticipated. The first phase is currently underway and will focus on a new soccer stadium plus renovations and expansions to the field hockey and softball stadiums.
The selected design team combines a trusted Maine-based A/E firm, WBRC, with a nationally-recognized leader in design solutions for Division I Athletics, Crawford Architects.
“We are excited to work alongside the University of Maine and WBRC to create the next generation of athletics facilities for the University and the Black Bear community,” said David Murphy, principal and co-owner of Crawford Architects. “This project will provide class-leading elements, improve recruitment, advance gender equality and inclusiveness, host community events, and will be sustainable and accessible in design.”
“At WBRC, we are Black Bear fans, neighbors, and many of us are UMaine graduates,” said Ray Bolduc, WBRC Senior Principal. “We know how vast the Black Bear Nation is and how much UMaine Athletics means to people all over the country. We are thrilled to work with Crawford Architects to help the University of Maine realize its exciting vision.”
About Crawford Architects: Crawford Architects is an award-winning international planning, architecture, and interior design firm headquartered in Kansas City. As a professional services firm, Crawford Architects specializes in all aspects of the planning and design of stadiums, arenas, athletic training centers, sports medicine facilities, entertainment venues, lifestyle & workplace facilities, and the mixed-use developments which accompany these projects. Learn more at crawfordarch.com.
About WBRC: WBRC Inc. is a Maine-based A/E firm dedicated to design that improves lives. WBRC’s team of 60, including architects, engineers, interior designers, and landscape architects, work on projects throughout New England and nationwide. Headquartered in Maine, WBRC focuses on solutions for the education, healthcare, civic/government, and commercial sectors. Learn more at wbrcinc.com.
CONTACT:
Crawford Architects
1801 McGee Street Suite 200
Kansas City, MO 64108
Gerry Rodrigues
grodrigues@crawford-usa.com
WBRC
44 Central Street
Bangor, ME 04401
Ray Bolduc
(207) 947-4511
ray.bolduc@wbrcinc.com
