Beneath the exposed steel of Morse Arena, Xenia Rofes raised a hand toward the framing overhead. Around her, University of Maine structural engineering students in hard hats, safety glasses and red mesh vests looked up.
For students learning to design structures, the unfinished home of UMaine basketball offered something a classroom drawing could not: a chance to stand inside their subject.
“We usually see things on paper,” one student said.
Inside the arena, those drawings took on a new dimension.
“To me, the tours are most valid to get a sense of scaling and proportion,” said Rofes, a UMaine senior lecturer in civil and environmental engineering.
Expected to open next year, Morse Arena is already serving another purpose: giving future engineers a close look at how a major building stands up and comes together. The recent visit reflects UMaine’s focus as a learner-centered R1 university, where hands-on experiences help students connect classroom lessons with practical work.
From drawings to steel
Rofes brought her structural engineering class to examine the arena while beams, trusses and connections remained exposed.
The tour began outside near Memorial Gymnasium, continued through the second and third levels and ended on the roof overlooking Alfond Stadium. Along the way, Rofes connected the framework around students to concepts they were studying.
At a truss, she pointed out a moment connection — a joint that resists rotation between structural members — that students would design in their final lab. Elsewhere, they examined shear studs and composite decking, components of a system in which steel beams and concrete work together to support loads.
Rofes also drew attention to the structural bracing, explaining how its layout was as symmetrical and as close to the exterior walls as possible.
Standing beneath the framework made the proportions of beams and columns easier to understand. Beams can be deeper than columns while having thinner flanges, the projecting portions of their cross sections.
How the pieces connect
In a classroom conversation afterward, one student recalled “the number of all the connections and the number of all the members.”
Classroom problems often simplify how those members meet so students can concentrate on a particular concept. Inside the arena, they could compare simple shear connections using bolted double angles or a single tab with fully welded connections, and follow how individual pieces fit into the larger structure.
Rofes also pointed out markings on the steel members, including welding symbols, giving students another opportunity to connect the notation they study with the structure in front of them.
Rofes brought a practicing engineer’s perspective to those observations. A registered professional engineer, she has more than 15 years of structural engineering experience, including timber, steel and concrete design.
The visit also prompted students to consider how a structure gets built. In their discussion afterward, they recalled the coordination required to lift large trusses into position with two cranes. The lift illustrated that engineers must account for how a truss is supported during assembly as well as how it functions in the finished building.
Building from the ground up
Rofes described the broader construction process from the ground up: foundations, followed by structural steel, floor and roof decking, concrete slabs and exterior walls, and insulation. The sequence gave students a way to understand the unfinished arena as one stage in a building taking shape.
Even concrete work happens in stages, Rofes said. Foundations and elevated slabs are poured at different points in construction, while the ground-level slab usually comes late because mechanical work must be coordinated first. Rather than taking place all at once, concrete pours recur as construction progresses.
Moving through the arena’s steep seating bowl and surrounding viewing areas gave students another perspective: how the building’s purpose shapes its geometry and layout.
Consigli Construction Co. is managing construction of the 2,660-seat arena, which will host varsity athletics, university events, special events and community activities. It is funded entirely through private support, with no public funds or tuition dollars used for the project.
The project was made possible by a $10 million gift from UMaine graduates Phillip and Susan Morse. It is part of UMaine’s Athletics Facilities Master Plan, supported by $170 million from the Harold Alfond Foundation’s broader $320 million investment in UMS TRANSFORMS.
For now, with the steel still exposed, students can look up from the seating bowl and see the beams, trusses and connections that hold the arena up.
“It’ll be cool to come back for a game and know what’s behind the walls,” one student said.
Contact: David Nordman, david.nordman@maine.edu
