The University of Maine released plans Wednesday for its renovations to the Shawn Walsh Hockey Center and Alfond Arena on Wednesday. The project is the next piece of the university’s ongoing athletic facilities upgrades, which began last spring with the opening of the new softball field and indoor batting cage.
The projects are the result of $170 million pledged by the Harold Alfond Foundation for the upgrade of athletic facilities on the Orono campus. The first $90 million, which is spread over 10 years, was pledged in 2022, with an additional $80 million coming in January.
Work is expected to begin on the Shawn Walsh Center and Alfond Arena this spring. The men’s and women’s hockey teams will get new locker rooms, as well as a new film room equipped with seating for 42. Sports medicine and strength and conditioning space will also be included.
A concourse entrance will connect Alfond Arena to the Shawn Walsh Hockey Center. The new concourse will feature updated ticket sales and concessions areas, as well as a new area for the Bear Necessities team store. The concourse will also include a University of Maine Hockey Hall of Fame.
A new field hockey field opened in the fall, and more projects, along with the Alfond renovations, are coming soon. A $7 million gift from New Balance will be used to towards a new track and field and soccer complex to be build behind Mahaney Diamond, home of Maine’s baseball team. Work is expected to begin on that project this summer. The construction of the 2,500-seat Morse Arena basketball facility, which will also include football operations offices and locker rooms and office space for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, is expected to begin in 2025.
A new practice facility to replace the Mahaney Dome, which collapsed in a storm in January 2023, is expected to be completed by the fall semester.
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