Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.43
Memorial Gym
18 Gym Drive
Orono, ME 04473
Year Opened: 1931 Capacity: 3,100
Shout ‘Til the Rafters Ring
When discussing college basketball’s oldest venues, Memorial Gym on the campus of the University of Maine – Orono is often left out of the conversation. Built in 1933, Memorial Gym, lovingly referred to as “The Pit”, is actually one of the ten oldest Division-I basketball venues in use today. The Black Bears men’s basketball team played at “The Pit” for 50 years, however, the growing popularity of the women’s basketball team created a need for a larger venue than the 1,300-seat capacity of Memorial Gym. As a result, both teams moved to Alfond Arena, located across the parking lot and originally built as the home of UMaine hockey.
Alfond would be the UMaine basketball home until 2011, when the Black Bears started bouncing between Alfond Arena and Memorial Gym. Upon the opening of Cross Insurance Center in neighboring Bangor in 2013, however, the Black Bears would move almost exclusively off campus for its basketball games. Memorial Gym then underwent extensive renovations to update the facility, expanding its capacity to 3,100 fans, including being brought up to date with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Maine would continue splitting time between Cross Insurance Center and Memorial Gym until the 2023-24 season, where except for the border battle with the University of New Hampshire, basketball would be exclusively played on campus. Then in January 2024, an $80 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation was announced, which includes funding to construct Morse Arena, the future home of UMaine’s men’s and women’s basketball teams – the new facility is slated to be completed in time for the 2028 season.
Currently members of the America East Conference, the Black Bears had previously been a part of the Yankee Conference dating back to 1947.
Food & Beverage 1
To say concessions are basic at Memorial Gym might be a bit generous – there are no hot food options; just popcorn, candy, cookies, and Maine Whoopie pie. Beverages include bottled soft drinks from the Pepsi line of products, along with Gatorade and Aquafina.
In the name of transparency, this review was conducted over winter break, and signs did reference a second concession stand available inside adjoining New Balance Maine Field House, but there was no sign of it being open.
Atmosphere 2
Memorial Gym is a relic when it comes to college basketball arenas, a true time capsule that brings back memories of the era of cagers. At the time it was built, not a lot of thought was given to obstructed views created by steel beams that frame the center court section of seating. The historic nature of the building also creates some unique features – there are not many college basketball venues that still have wooden seats throughout, and still have a wood plank ceiling.
A large HD video board is attached to the far end wall, and provides a video feed of the game, cues for fans to get loud, and advertisements during breaks in the action. It also keeps track of individual player point and foul totals. In addition, smaller, more traditional scoreboards with basic time and score information hang from the wall on each end of the floor at court level.
Timeouts are commonly filled with various fan cams that are popular with younger Black Bear fans, and while students are on campus, the pep band and cheerleaders fill the second tier of seating, which certainly adds to the overall college basketball experience.
Memorial Gym is everything that basketball in Maine is – a small gym that can get packed and warm during the cold Maine winters. Despite upgrades to become a bit more modern and accessible, Memorial Gym still comes with limitations that make the environment a bit of a challenge when considering the overall comfort of the facility.
Neighborhood 4
Orono is a vibrant, small college town that, despite its somewhat remote location, gives visitors just enough food and beverage options in town to make it worthwhile to arrive a few hours before tip-off.
The UMaine campus is separated from the Orono neighborhood of Marsh Island by the Stillwater River. Marsh Island is just over a mile from the athletics facilities, and is home to a handful of bars, restaurants, and breweries. One popular spot, Pat’s Pizza on Mill Street, has been an Orono staple since 1931. Orono has a small town center, but does pack a lot into that area’s relatively small size.
One of the more popular pregame establishments is Orono Brewing Company – while their craft brews are their most popular attraction, there is also a strong food menu. The town of Orono also neighbors the better-known and more populous Bangor, which might be the best option if you are looking for lodging or entertainment to fill the time before or after a UMaine basketball game.
On campus, Memorial Gym is clustered with the other UMaine athletic facilities – just across the parking lot is the aforementioned Alfond Arena, as well as Harold Alfond Sports Stadium, which hosts Maine Black Bears football, field hockey, and track & field.
Fans 2
Attendance at Black Bears men’s basketball tends to be a bit inconsistent at Memorial Gym, though in a bit of an oddity, on-campus games during school breaks tend to have larger attendance numbers than those that occur when students are on campus. The Orono community also does a decent job filling the seats at The Pit as part of weekend family plans- weekend games routinely draw over 1,200 fans, whereas typical crowds with students on campus have 500 to 700. While many of these are weekday games, with an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 10,000 the small attendance figures are a bit disappointing.
Access 2
The University of Maine campus, in the central Maine town of Orono, is a bit secluded from most of the population in the rest of the state. The main artery of travel up the eastern seaboard, Interstate 95, does pass through Orono, however, so it does at least provide a direct route to town. The UMaine athletic facilities are easily accessible from the interstate, and parking is directly in front of the main entry to Memorial Gym.
Memorial Gym only has one entry point that is used to access the court, which is fine for early arrivers, but the closer to tip-off the more the long, narrow entry point can become backed up. The age of Memorial Gym also definitely creates some issues when it comes to simply accessing the gym’s seating areas – the floor seats have a direct route from the entrance, but navigating between the seating along the sideline and baseline requires going down one set of stairs and coming back up another set. There is an elevator to access the upper-level seating across from the team benches, but there does not seem to be the same access on the other side.
The setup of Memorial Gym is a bit unfortunate in that the entire front of the building is used for visiting team access and is not accessible to fans. On the plus side, the lobby of the building is home to the University of Maine Athletics Hall of Fame, with photos and bios of its inductees.
Return on Investment 4
Balcony seating starts at $15 when purchased at the door, which seems consistent with schools at similar levels. However, even adding a flat fee of $2.25 per ticket, purchasing online is less expensive than waiting to buy a ticket at the door – the same $15 balcony ticket purchased at the door is just $12.25 when purchased online. Floor level seats are available for under $25.
There is no cost for parking, and prices at the limited concessions seem fair. In all, UMaine basketball is an extremely affordable entertainment option.
Extras 2
If you can access the main lobby at court level following the game, the University of Maine Athletics Hall of Fame shows the history of UMaine’s brightest stars throughout the school’s more than 140-year history of athletics in Orono – the Hall of Fame is a nice look at the athletes who have written the story of Black Bear athletics.
Following weekend games, players are made available for an on-court autograph session; this is a nice way for the team to make connections with the community, as well as inspire the next generation of Maine hoopsters.
Final Thoughts
Some of the inconsistencies with men’s basketball attendance could possibly be tied to not just the struggles the Black Bears have had putting wins in the win column, but also that they have not had a consistent facility to call home for quite some time. Between playing at Alfond Arena, which was not really designed for basketball, and traveling to Bangor, the Black Bears really have not established a true home court in quite some time.
The future does show promise, with facility upgrades on the way and an increased focus on drawing some of the top high school talent in the state to Orono. The coming years could see the Black Bears head back to Bangor for part of their schedule, if crowd sizes spike as they are anticipated to over the next few seasons. If given the opportunity before Morse Arena is completed, taking in a game at The Pit might be a priority, while the historic venue is still accessible.
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