BIDDEFORD — Plans to construct yet another athletic field on the University of New England campus have been given the initial go-ahead from city planning officials.

The Biddeford Planning Board on Wednesday unanimously approved a final site plan review for the university to construct a new multi-purpose turf athletic field near the near the existing Harold Alfond Forum, City Planner Greg Tansley said in an email Thursday.

UNE Assistant Vice President of Planning Alan Thibeault presented plans to the board in March.

He said the university needed the Planning Board’s approval for construction because the field, while on the university’s existing master plan, is not situated in its originally-proposed location.

“Our goal is to have the new field up and running for the fall,” Thibeault said in March.

The proposed field, a combination softball-field hockey practice and game space, will be situated within an existing recreational track behind Sokokis Hall, a university residence hall on Pool Street.

The area of the proposed field has already been used for softball practices since the university’s development of a football program last fall.

The 100,000-square-foot field would also be retrofitted with low-grade turf to allow field hockey to be played on the surface. Previously, the field hockey team played on the university’s blue turf field, adjacent to the Harold Alfond Forum, but football has since displaced the team.

Planning documents don’t call for restrooms to be added to the field, due to its proximity to the Alfond Forum, which itself is currently undergoing a $12 million, 36,000-square-foot expansion.

Netting will surround the new field to shield the nearby dorm from fly balls, and the university will install spotlights to illuminate the field while minimizing impact on surrounding properties.

Development costs for the vegetated area, which currently features a small pond and fountain, are to be determined, according to city planning documents.

The board also unanimously approved a final site plan review for UNE’s Waterfront Master Plan to provide space for waterside activities at 11 Hills Beach Road, between the university’s new student commons and the Saco River.

That project includes a two-phased plan for the construction of waterfront amenities and a new, multi-purpose athletic field on the property.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or  abennett@journaltribune.com.

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