Memorial Gymnasium (University of Maine)

Memorial Gymnasium
Construction
The Pit
Full name	Alumni Memorial Gymnasium and Field House
Location	Orono, Maine
Coordinates	44°54′13″N 68°40′12″W / 44.9037°N 68.6700°W / 44.9037; -68.6700Coordinates: 44°54′13″N 68°40′12″W / 44.9037°N 68.6700°W / 44.9037; -68.6700
Capacity	1,350 (Present) 3,100 (After Renovations, 2014)
Built	1935

Memorial Gym, nicknamed "The Pit", is a 1,340-seat multi-purpose arena in Orono, Maine. It is home to the University of Maine Black Bears men's and women's basketball teams. Maine played 10 men's and women's basketball games during 2011–12 at Memorial Gym.^[1] The men’s team has held a total of eight games at Memorial Gym since 2003–04. The Gym was home to Black Bears Basketball from 1935 to 1989, before moving some games to Bangor Auditorium.

Maine Athletic Director Steve Abbott said, “Among concerns about using ‘The Pit’ is the potential for not being able to accommodate more than the estimated capacity crowd of 1,300.” In 2012, Renovations began to the arena. New scoreboards and shot clocks were installed, and seats were added after the 2012-13 season. Abbott said the upgrades in 2012 were expected to cost $150,000, but UMaine will be able to use some of the equipment even after the renovation project is completed. Once the funding for the proposed project is in place, UMaine will begin retrofitting the building to make it the full-time home of Black Bear basketball. “Our goal in 2013 is to renovate ‘The Pit’ and have it be our primary home court,” Abbott said. “We want to start taking those steps to making it a reality.”^[2] In 2014, it will become the full-time home of Black Bear basketball, replacing Alfond Arena. The Total cost of the renovations will be approximately 12.7 million dollars, which will include some classrooms, an academic athletic center, a new training facility, new heating/HVAC ventulation, and new player locker rooms.

References

↑ Warner, Pete (18 October 2011). "UMaine basketball teams to play 10 home games at Memorial Gym this season". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
↑ Mahoney, Larry (19 October 2011). "New Balance giving UMaine $5M gift for naming rights to field house, fitness center". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 22 October 2011.

Maine Black Bears men's basketball

Venues	The Pit (1935–1989; alternate, 2011–present) Bangor Auditorium (1989–1992) Alfond Arena (1992–2013) Cross Insurance Center (2013–present)

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

Basketball arenas of the America East Conference

SEFCU Arena (Albany)
Binghamton University Events Center (Binghamton)
Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (Hartford)
Alfond Arena / Cross Insurance Center / Memorial Gymnasium (Maine)
Lundholm Gym (New Hampshire)
Island Federal Credit Union Arena (Stony Brook)
Retriever Activities Center (UMBC)
Costello Athletic Center, Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell (UMass Lowell)
Patrick Gym (Vermont)