Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Maine High School Starts Construction on $4.3M Athletic Complex

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/19/22

Kennebunk High School in Kennebunk, Maine, recently began work on a new $4.3-million athletic complex. Local news reports that voters approved a portion of the funding for the new project in May and approved the district’s overall operating budget in June. RSU 21 School Board Chair Art LeBlanc called the project “very exciting and long overdue,” as the existing athletic complex has fallen into disrepair in recent years.

During a presentation earlier this year, LeBlanc outlined some of the problems with the current facilities. The track was built in 2004 and is cracked and filled with holes. The bleachers were built in 2006, are not structurally sound and are not ADA-compliant. The 1980s-era lights are outdated, and poles have been damaged by wildlife. Finally, the field has drainage issues and is currently unusable for competition.

According to local news, the new complex will feature synthetic turf to support the school’s football, soccer, lacrosse and field-hockey teams. The turf is made of virgin EPDM material and is free of PSA toxins, as well as the contaminants usually associated with recycled rubber.

New home-side bleachers will cost $258,000, while another portable set will cost $170,000. A new press box will cost $212,000, the new lighting system $368,000, and track upgrades $125,000. Funding for the project is coming from $2.8 million from the district’s capital reserve fund, as well as $1.2 million left over from a previous construction project and another $250,000 previously allocated for track repairs.

The district partnered with CHA Consulting, Inc. to design and engineer the complex’s renovations in participation with local firms Sebago Technics and S.W. Cole. Further details about the project are available on the Maine Regional School Unit 21 website.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Girl Sitting at Library Desk, Using Laptop

    How Campus Design Shapes the Finals Week Experience

    Academic performance is not just about preparation. It is closely tied to how students manage stress, maintain their energy, and shift between work and recovery modes. Much of that is influenced, directly or indirectly, by design.

  • KWK Architects Announces Full Transition to Lawrence Group Branding

    KWK Architects recently announced that it will complete its transition to the Lawrence Group brand effective July 1, according to a news release. The merger marks the end of a three-year strategic integration process that began in March 2023 to unite the firms.

  • AAADM Announces Building Safety Month Initiatives

    The American Association of Automatic Door Manufacturers (AAADM) recently announced its support of Building Safety Month as declared by the International Code Council (ICC), according to a news release.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.