Husson turf may be ready for clinic

The youngsters who are planning to attend the Husson College baseball clinic at the end of July may have a little surprise in store for them.

They could very well be honing their skills on New England’s first artificial all-weather turf baseball field at the John Winkin Baseball Complex in Bangor.

Sargent and Sargent of Hampden is on schedule with the preparatory work and should be finished in another week. That will enable installers from Northeast Turf, Hue. Inc. to lay the FieldTurf over the 135,000 square-foot surface.

The process has been an extensive one.

According to Richard Gushue, a superintendent for Sargent and Sargent, the company has installed a 6-inch under-drain to eliminate the surface water and they have put a black covering over it.

On top of that, they installed another drain, called a J-Drain, which is tied to the 6-inch drain.

An 8-inch layer of crushed stone is being placed on top of the J-Drain and there will be two more layers of crushed stone which will complete the preparation and set the stage for the installers from Northeast Turf.

The crushed stone has been provided by local company Lane Construction.

“Things have gone really well,” said Gushue during their 10th day of work on Thursday. “It’s going to be a real nice complex when it’s done.”

Gushue said they have had 8-12 employees working on the facility six days a week and they have used a number of different vehicles including dump trucks, graders, front-end loaders, bulldozers, and scrapers.

They have had to dig down 18 inches and that dirt has been moved to a spot beyond the northwest end of the facility to serve as the foundation for the practice football field.

The first Husson football team will debut in 2003.

They have also dug a trench for a conduit that will run out to the new scoreboard in right field. There will be a new flagpole, too.

There will be a 15-foot warning track around the outfield and there will be 10-foot cutouts around each base along with cutout areas around the mound and home plate.

The project has been funded by a $1 million gift provided by Waterville philanthropist Harold Alfond. One of the primary reasons for the gift was Alfond’s longtime friendship with Winkin, the vice president for sports leadership and assistant baseball coach at Husson.

“It’s unbelievable the way it has come together,” said former Colby College and University of Maine head baseball coach Winkin. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it is completed within two weeks. And it’s nice we were able to use the dirt from the baseball field for the new practice football field. That solves a lot of problems for Husson.”

Winkin, who donated $250,000 toward improving the facility, said this will conclude phase two.

The next phase would involve lights, stands, locker rooms, rest rooms and concession stands.