What do fans want from a potential new Hearts of Pine stadium?
Hearts of Pine fans do their iconic "Heart Beat of the Pine" chant at the start of Wednesday's friendly at CT United at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)
PORTLAND — The start of the Hearts of Pine friendly against CT United was more than an hour away, and Ari Kasal was having a blast. Kasal, of Sebago, was watching his 8-year-old son Asher play pickup soccer with other kids in the inflatable pitch in the Kids Zone.
“I don’t usually come to games two hours early, but he loves this,” Kasal said, pointing at his son.
Over the last couple of days, the Hearts of Pine’s plan to build a new stadium at Cassidy Point on Portland’s West End has drawn a lot of attention. If the idea comes to fruition and the team is playing on a new pitch where a literal lump of coal now sits, it won’t be until 2029.
On Tuesday, the team stressed it wants fan input as it begins the new stadium planning process. It even set up an email address, [email protected].
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Before the game Wednesday at Fitzpatrick Stadium, jammed with a sold-out crowd as usual, fans were happy to share what they’d like to see in a new home for their beloved team.
“The first word that comes to mind is excited. The fact that we’re here less than two years into playing soccer is feat in itself,” said Mitchell Ketchen of Winthrop, the co-chair of the Dirigo Union supporters group.
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Ketchen is less worried about parking or traffic flow at a new stadium. That stuff is for the engineers to figure out, and he thinks they will long before he’s making the two-hour round trip from his home for games. His ideas for the new stadium are all about fan engagement, which is what Dirigo Union is all about.
Hearts of Pine fan Dana Ricker leads chants Wednesday during a friendly against CT United at Fizpatrick Stadium in Portland. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)
At Fitzpatrick Stadium, Dirigo Union members sit in the end section diagonally behind the visitors bench, where their never-ending noise can cause the most chaos for the opponent. In a new stadium, Ketchen would like the club seated behind one of the nets.
Behind a net, Dirigo Union can give Portland’s goalie a lift in the first half. In the second half, it can ensure the opposing netminder is subjected to 45 minutes of an unadulterated cacophony.
If Ketchen was the stadium architect, he’d design the seating at a slightly steeper angle. That way, all the signs Dirigo Union creates game in, game out will be more visible. Of course, he doesn’t want to see the working waterfront squeezed out if a stadium is built on that site along the Fore River.
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Jesse Reich watched his son enjoy the Kids Zone pregame. The proposed stadium could seat between 9,000 and 11,000 fans, bigger than Fitzpatrick Stadium’s capacity of around 6,000 (the announced attendance Wednesday was 6,403). If that could open up more opportunities for more fans to see games, Reich is all for it.
Reich, of Gray, noted that it’s been easier to drive past Portland and on to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to watch MLS games.
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“It’s easier to get Revolution tickets than to come here,” he said.
Whatever stadium design the team settles on, the big thing to Kasal is the family-friendly things like the Kids Zone have to stay.
“I would not want to lose this,” he said, as his son got back in line for another turn at the mini soccer pitch. “It’s a culture. It’s a community.”
Ketchen understands why some might be skittish about building a new stadium in Portland. He remembers when Cross Insurance Arena underwent renovations years ago, only to see the Portland Pirates hockey team pack up and leave in the spring of 2016. It was two years before the Maine Mariners came to town and made the arena their home.
What if you build a 10,000-seat stadium, and the popularity of the Hearts wanes? There’s absolutely no sign of that happening, but it’s not a surprise if there’s anybody thinking that exact what if?
“I just want it to be a special place that stands out with the (city’s) other venues,” Ketchen said. “We love our sports, and we love our community.”
In three years, if the Hearts are able to keep their planned schedule and open a new stadium at Cassidy Point, this point will be proven. It’s not Fitzpatrick Stadium that creates the atmosphere. It’s the fans.
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Tagged: Hearts of Pine, Sports Columns, travis lazarczyk
Travis Lazarczyk has covered sports for the Portland Press Herald since 2021. A Vermont native, he graduated from the University of Maine in 1995 with a BA in English. After a few years working as a sports. More by Travis Lazarczyk
