‘Jacks ready for opener in Bangor Winkin Complex debut tonight vs. New Jersey

BANGOR – It’s hard to imagine Husson College’s Winkin Complex getting much busier than it has been in recent days, but Bangor Lumberjacks officials are expecting it to be that and more as the Northeast League team begins a seven-game homestand tonight.

The independent Northeast League team will christen its new home with pregame ceremonies and a 6:30 p.m. contest against the New Jersey Jackals.

“This offseason, there’s just been a different feel and we’ve been steadily busy getting ready for this season,” said team general manager Curt Jacey. “We’ve gotten much more of a response from the public and we’re getting awful close to a sellout for the first two games.”

Both games are approximately 75-80 percent sold out, according to Jacey. Ironically, the most popular date on this homestand is a special 11 a.m. start against Elmira on Tuesday, June 8. Only about 200 tickets remain unsold for the School Day Ball Game, which will welcome students from several area schools in a promotion sponsored by Shaw’s Supermarkets, the Brewer Wal-Mart, and Oakhurst Dairy.

The stadium’s capacity is 3,051 fans. It features an artificial FieldTurf surface which has the look and feel of a grass field.

“The surface is unbelievable. Unless we get a sudden downpour and it never stops, I can’t see us missing a game,” said Jacey.

Winkin Complex also features wide aisles, benches and plastic seats with backs, and unimpaired sight lines.

“We’ll have to grow into the facility,” said Jacey, explaining that the club will experiment with a bunch of temporary things, venues and activities for fan convenience and entertainment before deciding what to make permanent and what to discontinue. “I think people will love coming here.”

Ticket sales, which are roughly at least 25 percent higher at this time of the season than they were a year ago, seem to bear that out.

“Being here in Bangor seems to have made a world of difference,” Jacey said. “We get a lot of people calling or coming in and buying tickets for several games, not just one. And a lot of them are saying they’re buying more tickets because we’re in Bangor now.”

The field has been bristling with activity this week with last-minute construction, painting, field work, and landscaping. Trees have been planted along the outside of the outfield fence, a wooden wall has been placed over the inside portion of the fence for sponsor ad boards, and an outer barrier has been installed beyond the trees and around the park. The team’s locker room at Newman Gymnasium is ready after the wooden lockers were all varnished and wall-to-wall carpeting was installed Tuesday.

Some of the new wrinkles at the facility include an arcade building, two picnic areas for large groups and corporate outings, and a birthday party area.

The Lumberjacks are currently enjoying more success off the field than on as the team limps into Bangor coming off a 2-5 season-opening road trip.

“We just need to put it together. It’s been a tough road trip. We’ve had good pitching on days we haven’t hit and vice-versa,” said Lumberjacks manager Kash Beauchamp. “I hope this helps get us going. Being home should be a big bonus.

“We’re glad to be home and play in a new park where we feel we’ll actually have a home field advantage.”