Harold Alfond Sports Arena is a multi-purpose

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Orono, Maine Orono ( ) is a New England town, town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. Located on the Penobscot River, Penobscot and Stillwater River (Maine), Stillwater rivers, it was first settled by Province of Maine, American colonists in 1774. ...

, United States. The arena opened in 1977. It is home to the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

Black Bears

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

teams. It is recognizable for its distinctive hyperbolic paraboloid architecture. The multi-angular roof design can also be found at Finneran Pavilion at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

, the

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

Smith Swim Center and the Flynn Recreation Complex at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. It is named for

Harold Alfond Harold Alfond (March 6, 1914 – November 16, 2007) was an American businessman who founded the Dexter Shoe Company, established the first factory outlet store and was a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox. Early life Alfond was born in S ...

, a longtime Maine booster, whose name also adorns

Alfond Sports Stadium Harold Alfond Sports Stadium is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Orono, Maine. 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 school's main outdoor stadium. It was expanded in 1992 from its original capacity of 3,800 in order to accommodate more spectators and bring the basketball team back from its temporary home at the Bangor Auditorium. More skyboxes have been added since then, so the arena's capacity has been reduced. As of the 2022-2023 season, the capacity was 5,125 for hockey. The arena includes the Bear Necessities Fan Shop and the Maine Hockey Hall of Fame. The Grateful Dead played in The Alfond on April 19, 1983. Scott Hamilton's Stars on Ice opened in Alfond Sports Arena in 1986.

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

appeared at the arena in 1994. It takes two hours to make the transition from basketball to hockey, and about 2½ from hockey to basketball. New, energy-efficient lighting was installed in late 2006 because of previous power outages and too much electricity consumption. A new scoreboard was installed during the summer of 2008. A new basketball floor was purchased in late 2009 to replace the original floor first used in 1992. A $4.8 million renovation project began in May 2011. The renovation included a new ice system along with dehumidifier equipment, new dasher boards and glass, and new lower-level seating. The Dalhousie Memorial Arena (1982–2012) at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in Halifax, Canada was inspired by the Alfond Sports Arena, which university president Henry Hicks reportedly admired.

References

External links

Harold Alfond Sports Arena at GoBlackBears.com

Merrimack College Has Alfond Nightmares
{{coord, 44, 54, 16.34, N, 68, 40, 25.02, W, display=title College ice hockey venues in Maine Basketball venues in Maine University of Maine buildings and structures Maine Black Bears basketball venues Tourist attractions in Penobscot County, Maine Sports venues completed in 1977 1977 establishments in Maine Sports venues in Penobscot County, Maine

See also

References

External links