Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.14
Ed Flaherty Field 156 School Street Gorham, ME 04038
Year Opened: 2017
Ed Flaherty Field – Gorham Lightning
As the collegiate baseball season comes to an end on the campus of the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, attention shifts to the summer wooden bat season. As members of the Greater Northeast Collegiate Baseball League (GNCBL), the Gorham Lightning are playing their first season in the league.
Entering the 2024 season, the GNCBL underwent significant changes in operations and organization. The league was purchased by "The Players League", and its format was changed from a nomadic setup, with teams playing at various fields around the area, to a structure where each of the five teams now has its own designated home field.
Food & Beverage 0
There are no concessions offered at Ed Flaherty Field, but fans are welcome to bring their food and drinks. With a handful of convenience stores less than a mile away, grabbing a sandwich, chips, and soda to bring to the field might be a good option.
Atmosphere 2
Ed Flaherty Field is one of the more comfortable facilities used in the GNCBL – the seating bowl here is built into the hillside and consists of six rows of individual chairback seats, keeping fans close to the action on the field.
Seating extends from dugout to dugout, and while the seats are not covered, the sun sets behind the grandstand, providing shade to the top rows fairly early in the game. Evening games do not have much difficulty with the sun in any direction.
The games here are as pedestrian as can be – there are no walkup songs, no music between innings, and no on-field contests; it’s just baseball. The game is what it is, just some college players getting some summer at-bats and innings pitched.
Neighborhood 3
On the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus, Ed Flaherty Field is less than a mile from Gorham’s city center. Main Street oozes small-town charm and is dotted with locally-owned shops and restaurants. Junction Bowl offers both food and entertainment, while Sebago Brewing Company has a brewpub next door and a tasting room just a short 3-mile trip away.
For more of a full-day experience, downtown Portland is about 10 miles away, featuring the area's biggest summer attractions. Closer still is the neighboring town of Westbrook, a growing community with numerous restaurants, Mast Landing Brewery, and a popular riverside trail.
Fans 1
Attendance is generally small, mostly consisting of friends and families of the players. The summer setting tends to keep fans more laid-back, but they are quick to let umpires know about borderline calls. This is the league’s first year using a home team format, where teams have a designated home field, so the idea of developing roots in a community has not yet had much time to set in.
Access 3
Gorham is a suburb of Maine’s largest city Portland. Without direct access from the state's only interstate route, I-95, traffic into Gorham can become congested, due to several highly traveled arteries feeding into the city center from neighboring towns to the east – roads coming from the north, south, and west are much less traveled. While there is a campus shuttle that runs between Portland and Gorham, it stops running at 5 pm, making it challenging to return to Portland after a game using public transportation.
GPS directions lead to an awkward parking lot that is not directly adjacent to the field. It is easier to enter via the Campus Avenue entrance, which provides access to the lot directly next to the field – from this latter parking lot, it is just a short walk to the entrance and a walkway that runs atop the seating bowl.
Return on Investment 5
There was no admission charge during my last visit; GNCBL teams that charge for attendance typically ask for between $5 and $6 – it is possible I just caught a break from not having anyone there that day selling tickets.
Typically, any sporting event that is free of charge is hard to beat. However, what is disappointing, and is no fault of the league, is that even during the summer the University here charges for parking. Although the fee is nominal, roughly $1.50 an hour, it seems unnecessary given the lower demand for campus parking in the summer.
Extras 1
The field is a rather quirky one – it is not every day you will find a baseball field where centerfield (388’) is 18 feet shorter than right center (406’).
Final Thoughts
The reorganization of the Greater Northeast Collegiate Baseball League appears to bring the league more credibility, as well as the ability to create roots in the towns that host teams, making it possibly an appealing option for families in the community to consider in the summer months. The Gorham Lightning have some work to do in terms of branding and marketing their team, but they might have one of the most important elements of the equation already in place with the comfort that is provided by Ed Flaherty Field.
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