Group studies multipurpose facility in Ellsworth

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Nancy Graham, then Nancy Ludington, won a bronze medal in pairs skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Cal.

Graham would love to see youngsters in coastal Maine have a facility in which they can learn to skate or play hockey or participate in a variety of other activities.

They don’t have a facility.

But it is coming.

The donation of 13 acres of land by Rebecca MacQuinn of Southwest Harbor has enabled Graham’s group, the Acadia Skating Association, to set the groundwork for the a multipurpose facility. The land is next to the Ellsworth Wal-Mart off Route 3.

“The entrance will be right by the Acadia National Park sign,” said Graham, who is vice-president of the association.

A feasibility study is currently being conducted by Gary Friedman and Associates and the structure has already been designed by A4 Architecture of Bar Harbor.

“It will be 70,000 square feet and the ice surface will be 200-by-90 [feet]. It will seat 1,500. The target date for its completion is November, 2002. It will cost in the vicinity of $6 million,” said Graham. “We plan to have a portable floor so we can also conduct all kinds of other non-ice related activities [i.e. indoor soccer]. We will have three or four function rooms and a pro shop.”

She also said they plan to have a second tier complete with a track.

“We will offer activities for all ages,” said Graham, who is extremely optimistic about the project.

“We have been amazed at the people who have contacted us and indicated that they’re interested in the facility. They’re coming out of the woodwork,” said Graham, who is retired.

“My feeling is that we will be able to fillthe facility for 18 to 20 hours a day,” she predicted.

Graham expects the facility to serve a sizeable area including Mount Desert Island and Blue Hill and stretching all the way to Washington County.

She anticipates the feasibility study to take four or five months and said the building of the facility is expected to take nine to 10 months.

She also said they have a level of flexibility so that if the feasibility study indicates the facility is too costly or too elaborate, they can “scale back.”

The Stoneham, Mass. native, who moved to Surry with husband Frank nine years ago, said they have already received inquiries from people interested in supplying financial support to the project.

“There’s a lot of work to do but the infrastructure is in place,” said Graham. “We [Acadia Skating Association] have a very strong board of directors.”

Winkin project under way

Husson College Sports Fellow in Leadership and assistant baseball coach John Winkin saw his project get off the ground earlier this week.

Winkin sold his summer camp for more than $200,000 and the money is being used to build the John Winkin Baseball Complex on the Bangor campus.

The construction began this week with phase one including new brick dugouts, a brick retaining wall that will run from one dugout to the other and a backstop surrounded by netting. The netting will be approximately 30 feet high.

The phase also includes a brick press box behind home plate that will span 35 feet and a platform for stadium seating.

“It’s fun to see it going,” said Winkin. “We’re a little behind schedule but, hopefully, we still have the time well-coordinated.”

Husson will play at the facility next spring.

Across the street, construction began on the new soccer field several weeks ago. It is expected to be ready for the fall season.

One decision yet to be made concerns the playing surface for the baseball field.

Winkin is intrigued by the possibility of the grass-like turf sold by John Huard, the former University of Maine All-American linebacker, NFL linebacker and Maine Maritime Academy football coach.

“That would be terrific for this area,” said Winkin noting that it has received excellent reviews at its various venues.

So what do student-athletes and coaches from other countries think about the current presidential election mess in the United States?

“It’s a little ridiculous,” said Maine senior left winger Dan Kerluke of Brampton, Ontario. “They should have a revote in Florida.”

And what would Kerluke like to see happen in the revote?

“I’m not a big supporter of the Republican Party. I don’t care for [George W.] Bush,” said Kerluke who would have cast his vote for vice-president Al Gore if he could have.

Maine senior defenseman and co-captain A.J. Begg of Vancouver, British Columbia deadpanned ” There was an election?

“I don’t pay attention to politics. But when the vote is this close, it’s so hard to distinguish. It gets so technical,” added Begg. “Things are much simpler in Canada.”

Maine women’s hockey assistant Arnie Caplan, a Winnipeg, Manitoba native, said he feels sympathetic for the country’s plight.

“This has to be disturbing for the people,” said Caplan. “It’s an awkward situation.”