Five Things: Top Sports Facilities At UMaine

There are so many great places to go to at the University of Maine. Along with all the great academic buildings and dorms, there are some state of the art venues for athletics as well. With that in mind it only seems right to list the top five sports facilities that you can go to and use while at UMaine. Now here's the list, saving the best for last.

#1- Memorial Gym
The Memorial Gym has been a mainstay at the University of Maine for decades and features an indoor track, swimming pool, and full size basketball court and bleachers. The gym itself is affectionately termed "The Pit", due to the the players feeling as though they're playing with fans on top of them. Renovations to the gym will occur soon as they hope to complete the task by the fall of 2012. The renovations will cost over 12 million dollars and will gave both the Men's and Women's basketball teams their own place to play. It will also boast just over 3,000 seats when completed.

#2- Student Recreation Center
The Rec Center opening coincided with the incoming freshman class of 2007. The center boasts an indoor track, multiple basketball courts, a soccer area, squash courts, three weight training areas, and one fitness station that includes multiple exercise machines. All UMaine students are granted membership to the facility and it's paid for as a cost included in tuition. The Rec Center is the hub for most of the intramural sports on campus and is a great utility for students.

#3- Mahaney Diamond
Mahaney is the baseball team's home stadium and now features artificial field turf that was installed in 2008 and made its debut in 2009. The turf has enabled Maine to host home games earlier than it ever had before and also saves money on field maintenance costs. Mahaney Diamond also hosted the Bangor Lumberjacks in their brief semi-pro baseball run in the 2000s.

#4- Morse Field
Morse Field is one of the first football fields in the area to adopt field turf. The turf in fact has been installed twice, the second time to refresh from the wear and tear it endures. Since its creation, Morse Field has hosted some of the biggest games Maine football has played in. The field itself has enough seating for 10,000 fans and also has a collegiate track. Both the track team and football team play here.

#5- Alfond Arena
The Alfond, as it's affectionately known, is one of the most beloved places on the University of Maine campus. It can accommodate 5,712 fans and is the home for both basketball and the ice hockey teams. The Alfond has hosted two NCAA hockey champions and has recently gone under some maintenance to brighten up the facility. It opened in 1977 and now features a Jumbo tron and Pro-score scoreboard. The roof is also very unique due to its multi-angular design and is one of only three complexes in the country in the country that have this.