Since 1977, Alfond Arena in Orono has been the hockey home of the University of Maine, one of the most successful Division I programs in the country.

It also is the home venue for the Black Bear men’s and women’s basketball teams.

However, even after undergoing a $3.9 million renovation in 1992, which enabled UMaine to utilize the facility for basketball in addition to hockey, the building pales in comparison to those of some Hockey East and America East rivals.

In an effort to help UMaine make better use of Alfond Arena, and to provide the hockey programs with adequate facilities, university officials are expected today to announce significant renovations to the building.

UMaine apparently is planning to improve the existing hockey locker rooms and add at least one new one. It also will perform a facelift to Dexter Lounge that will provide a new weight training facility, a training room, and some other usable space for the hockey programs.

The addition to the building likely will be an extension of Dexter Lounge, the Alfond Arena multipurpose room that faces Squa Pan Road.

Though the UMaine athletic department has made several facility improvements in recent years, Alfond Arena has been in need of renovations. The hockey training room is no larger than a big closet, while there are only three hockey-specific locker rooms.

The UMaine men’s and women’s team each have a permanent locker room, while there is a third room for visiting teams. However, whenever the Bears have hosted hockey tournaments, some teams have been forced to use the men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms on the upper level, which are at best inconvenient and at worst a safety concern.

Both hockey programs also share a tiny weight room located next to the men’s locker room, which has created some privacy issues.

Though the biggest drawing cards for Black Bear men’s hockey are the program’s perennial success on the national scene and their large, exuberant crowds, the new facilities should help UMaine compete even more successfully for recruits in the future.

It is possible the renovations will be extensive enough that UMaine will have to close Squa Pan Road, one of the main access points to the north end of campus off College Avenue.