Husson College vice president for sports leadership John Winkin went out on a limb.

When he donated over $250,000 to Husson College in order to build a first-class multi-sport stadium on the campus of the Bangor institution, the initial plans called for a FieldTurf surface and a seating capacity of 1,500.

“It was geared for a college setting. When we began talking to [eventual Bangor Lumberjacks owner Chip Hutchins] and he expressed interest in bringing a [minor league] club here, we had to shift from 1,500 to 3,000 [seats] and that made a lot of difference in how we built the stadium, so to speak, and the financing of it,” said Winkin.

Winkin, who is now the head baseball coach at Husson after being the assistant for eight years, wound up raising even more money and a 3,000-seat Winkin Sports Complex became a reality.

But with the demise of the Lumberjacks, which was announced Thursday, Winkin is now looking for suitors to use his facility.

Winkin said he was “disappointed” that the Canadian-American league terminated the membership of the Lumberjacks but admitted he “wasn’t totally surprised.

“It’s a hurt, in a way, for the community because it was a promising situation where everybody was involved: the city, the college and Chip,” said Winkin. “I thought it might be saved.

“I knew there was a difficulty there. It’s unfortunate. I hope the league will find a way to come back here,” Winkin added.

“It’s sad,” said Kash Beauchamp, who managed the Lumberjacks for two years before becoming the director of player development and scouting for the Golden League this year. “My heart goes out mostly to the players and [manager] Chris Carminucci. I feel sorry for the fans, too. They were great. I got to know a lot of them.

“You hate it. Bangor’s a great city. I loved the two years I was there. And the players liked it. It was a good place to play and a good town,” Beauchamp added.

Former Bangor mayor Nichi Farnham, who was on the city council when she voted in favor of supplying $381,000 in tax dollars for the facility, echoed her disappointment.

“I really liked the fact we had another opportunity to enjoy outside entertainment,” said Farnham, the mother of three boys.

She also said since tax dollars were allocated to the facility, she understandably “hoped it would be very successful. I respect the fact Chip tried to make something happen for all of us to enjoy. I thought these were the right circumstances [for success].

“It’s a great field. My hope is it will get more community use now. That will be the next goal. You want to get the most play for your dollars,” said Farnham.

That is Winkin’s intent.

“We will try to attract everything we can in terms of amateur baseball, whether it be the Bay League [for post high school-aged players], American Legion baseball or more high school baseball as the season goes on,” said Winkin. “Remember, we’ve had to be ready for a May start [to the Can-Am League]. Now this opens the gate for all kinds of baseball to come here during May [and beyond].”

Winkin would also like to host tournaments throughout the spring and summer.

“It was their [Lumberjacks’] place for the summer. Now it becomes Husson’s place again,” added Winkin.

Jay Kemble, a former University of Maine assistant and high school and American Legion head coach, said he didn’t know how much the Lumberjacks would be missed.

“With the University of Maine, Husson College, the Legion programs, all the high school teams and the Senior League World Series [at Bangor’s Mansfield Stadium], there’s a great deal of interest in baseball. People have those avenues to see good amateur baseball. The State Legion Tournament is at Mansfield this year,” said Kemble.

Winkin, Beauchamp and Kemble feel minor league baseball can be successful in Bangor under the right circumstances.

“The only thing I know about here is that with the exception of [University of Maine] hockey, for a sporting event to succeed here you need a local presence,” said Winkin. “Not only in the administration of it and the coaching and managing of it, but the players. They support local people. Look at the kid [former Mount Ararat star pitcher Mark] Rogers. He brought in 3,000 people [to Mansfield Stadium]. [Former Bangor pitcher] Matt Kinney used to bring in 2,000. If I may say so, in our days at Maine, our teams had a local presence [and drew well]. People like a local presence and a quality product.”

He also mentioned Clinton native and former University of Maine women’s basketball star Cindy Blodgett and her ability to fill the seats at the Alfond Arena.

He said it would also help if the Lumberjacks or any future minor league franchise in Bangor was affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, instead of being an independent, and pointed to the success of the Portland Sea Dogs, the Red Sox’s AA Eastern League franchise.

Kemble agreed that having an affiliation with a major league franchise would be helpful “so you can follow a group of players and see them further themselves. You know some of those guys have a chance to be in the big leagues some day. It’s kind of interesting.”

Beauchamp said Bangor would need to build a new stadium down by the Kenduskeag Stream.

“Every independent league club that works [successfully] starts with a state-of-the-art stadium. And downtown ballparks are working,” said Beauchamp.

That’s not to say he didn’t enjoy the Winkin Complex. Far from it.

“It’s a very good college ballpark. I loved that FieldTurf. It was awesome. We probably had the best field in the league. And the dugouts were big league,” said Beauchamp. “I’m talking about amenities. Like the luxury boxes they have in Brockton [Mass.] and the big press box. It’s like a AA ballpark.”

Bangor Lumberjacks timeline

1/24/03 – Charles M. “Chip” Hutchins introduces new team.

1/24/03 – Curt Jacey named general manager, Kash Beauchamp named manager.

5/30/03 – First game played at Mahaney Diamond.

7/14/03 – Bangor City Council votes to contribute $381,000 to Winkin Complex.

9/1/03 – Jacks finish first season with 42-49 record.

9/23/03 – Winkin Complex wins Planning Board approval.

6/3/04 – First game played at Winkin Complex at Husson College.

9/10/04 – Eliminated from semifinals of playoffs. Finished 57-39; 68,251 total attendance

10/1/04 – Team office and store closes at Bangor Mall.

November 2004 – Beauchamp leaves for new Golden League.

4/20/05 – Chris Carminucci named new manager.

2003 average attendance: 1,089 per game.

2004 average attendance: 1,264 per game.