Fielding a dome

The last time Maine heard of an encouraging proposal to place a seasonal sports dome over half the football field at the University of Maine, it was a balmy September and winter seemed many months away. UMaine officials at the time were gently rejecting a generous offer from longtime benefactor Larry K. Mahaney, who was willing to do all the fund raising for the dome as well as make a substantial donation to it himself. Now that the snow has begun to fall, university officials should rethink their conclusion and consider the many uses for such a facility and the opportunity it provides to generate some revenue for sports.

Seasonal domes are put up in late fall and are taken down in the spring. In this case, the dome proposed by Mr. Mahaney would cover 33,000 square feet, approximately 150 feet wide by 220 feet long. It would be 60 feet high, heated and lighted and would accommodate a variety of sports – soccer, field hockey, softball, baseball, football – public recreation and nonsports events that need a lot of room. There are about 30 similar domes in the Northeast and hundreds nationwide. Mr. Mahaney reports that little Augsburg College has collected more than $200,000 in outside rentals with its dome, although, unlike Orono, the college is situated in downtown Minneapolis.

UMaine’s sports facilities are modest compared with other universities, and the long winters here suggest that having more indoor space is warranted. Certainly, UMaine coaches could find plenty of use for the facility and very likely a lot of groups outside the campus would be interested in renting the space. The university’s worry was that it did not know where it would find the operation and maintenance budget for the facility. It’s a legitimate concern but, without further investigation, not enough reason to turn down the project. Like many universities, UMaine has some ardent and generous sports fans; the easiest way to find out whether they would support this project is to ask them.

Long-term, the university will need a new field house, partly because the current one is 75 years old and is showing its age and partly as an attraction for students, many of whom expect top-notch recreational facilities at college and can get them at competing schools. UMaine is reviewing the uses of all its facilities now and might find that the seasonal dome serves as an excellent interim between the old field house and a new one. Officials could think of the dome as a giant fund-raising sign for this much larger project.