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Updated: 8 hours ago

Maine Mariners aim to build 58,000 square-foot practice rink at the Downs in Scarborough

Maine Mariners hockey game on ice. Photo / Jim Neuger The Maine Mariners play and practice at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, but aim to build a new practice rink at the Downs in Scarborough.
By Renee Cordes

The Maine Mariners are seeking to build a 5,800 square-foot, state-of-the-art practice arena in Scarborough the team hopes to start using during the 2027 hockey season.

The 800-seat complex would be built on 6.2 acres inside the Innovation District at the Downs mixed-use development.

Besides serving as the team's practice arena, the facility would offer expanded ice time access to schools, municipalities and local hockey organizations. The team currently practices and hosts games at Portland's Cross Insurance Arena.

Partners on the project at the Downs include Hebert Development (affiliated with Lewiston-based Hebert Construction) and South Portland-based engineering firm Gorrill Palmer. In 2022, Hebert Construction managed the $6 million expansion of the Travis Roy Ice Arena at North Yarmouth Academy. 

The architecture firm is Studio Troika, a Boston-based company whose commercial portfolio includes the Skating Club of Boston, a 180,000 square-foot facility on the city’s outskirts. 

The Maine Mariners, acquired last year by North Conway, N.H., native Dexter Paine, are the ECHL league affiliates of the NHL's Boston Bruins and the AHL's Providence (R.I.) Bruins. ECHL teams compete for the Kelly Cup, that league’s equivalent of the NHL’s Stanley Cup championship trophy.

“Our goal is to bring a Kelly Cup to Maine, and we intend to build a facility that will foster growth and develop a winning culture,” Paine said. “Additionally, we see significant value in providing access to ice for the benefit of hockey organizations across the state.”

Map showing where an ice arena would be at The Downs, in Scarborough
Map / Scarborough Planning Board agenda packet
The planned facility would be built inside the innovation District at the Downs.

The proposal is under review by the Scarborough Planning Board, with an initial meeting scheduled for Monday, Oct. 20. Site plans and final designs will be submitted in a future application. 

Sam Murray, the Mariners’ vice president for sales and strategy, told Mainebiz that the team does not yet have a rendering available to share, and that it is still too early in the process to give an accurate estimate of the anticipated investment amount.

‘Long road of approvals’

Multiple approvals are required before construction can begin. The site has been designed with a future second rink in mind, though that is not part of the current proposal and would require additional parking.

Adam Goldberg of the Maine Mariners
File photos / Jim Neuger
Adam Goldberg

“We are very excited about the idea of this project,” said Maine Mariners CEO Adam Goldberg. “There is a long road of approvals ahead and we are hopeful to turn this concept into a reality throughout the entitlement process. We are optimistic and look forward to working with the town of Scarborough to see this through.”

The concept plan also calls for building a second commercial building of 4,400 square feet on a separate parcel at the Downs, located at the intersection of Innovation Way and Scarborough Downs Road, adjacent to the roundabout. That would be developed by Crossroads Holdings LLC, the developer of the Downs and the current landowner.

The outparcel building is anticipated to be a commercial building that may serve as a restaurant and/or retail use and will supplement the programming of the practice facility.

Season starts ahead 

For the Mariners, plans for the practice rink come on the eve of the 2025-26 season, with a game in Massachusetts against the Worcester Railers scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 18, and the home opener in Portland the following day against the Reading (Pa) Royals.

Over the weekend, the Mariners swept the Railers in a two-game series in both cities, winning 3-2 in Biddeford at the University of New England's Harold Alfond Forum on Saturday.

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