Harold Alfond has been gone for almost 20 years. But an old sweatshirt of his still seems to be bringing the Black Bears some luck.
Alfond, the prominent businessman and philanthropist for whom the University of Maine’s hockey arena is named, had a prized sweatshirt featuring an image of that hallowed venue on the front surrounded by the words “Alfond Arena” and “Home of the Maine Black Bears.”
Not long before Alfond died in 2007, he gave that navy blue crewneck to Greg Powell, the current president and CEO of Alfond’s foundation.
And as Powell and the Alfond Foundation helped celebrate Saturday’s unveiling of the $50 million upgrades at the arena that bears Harold Alfond’s name, the foundation leader brought that historic piece of clothing front and center.
Powell explained that he first carted that sweatshirt to campus a year ago, as UMaine broke ground on the Alfond Arena renovations. At the time, he handed it to UMaine head coach Ben Barr thinking it might help keep him warm on that chilly March day — and that it might bring the Black Bears some luck as well.
“Now I can’t tell you for sure, but then again, we did win Hockey East last season,” Powell said during his on-ice remarks as part of Saturday’s event.
UMaine won the Hockey East tournament this past season for the first time since 2004.
“Mr. Alfond gave me that sweatshirt in the last fall of his life,” Powell said after the Saturday ceremony. “And I was coming up to the groundbreaking last year, and I was putting my shoes on and looking at my shelf, and I saw the sweatshirt there and I said to myself, ‘You know I’m going to bring that up and give it to Ben.’ So that’s how that happened.”
Powell asked Barr to don that sweatshirt once more as the Black Bear hockey community celebrated the Alfond Arena renovations this weekend.
Barr was happy to oblige, drawing applause from the crowd on hand.
“I don’t know if this is still in fashion, but I’ll wear this every single day if we need to,” Barr said after the event.
The head coach said it was “pretty cool” to wear Alfond’s sweatshirt in the arena named after him, as one of college hockey’s most revered home atmospheres adds some new modern amenities.
The Alfond Foundation has donated $170 million to UMaine’s athletic department for athletic facility upgrades as part of a larger $320 million grant from the foundation to the UMaine System.
The updates at the hockey stadium include much larger locker rooms, a film room, player lounges with kitchenettes and study tables, conference rooms, a larger and better-equipped workout room, a new concession stand and covered outdoor patio, and a larger merchandise area.
“Harold Loved hockey. He loved competition,” Powell said about Alfond. “And he loved the University of Maine.”
