So it looks like the capacity of Fitzpatrick hasn't changed much since the 1930s. The teams that played there and still do are all local draws. With a population reach now of nearly 5 million (up to a 1.5 hour drive by car), events or sports that can attract fans or customers from out-of-state too is realistic with a much bigger and an indoor venue space. High School football and track in Maine is waning, so new sports (pro soccer) and bigger concerts (Bangor does in the summer with up to 16,000 seats) are the smarter way to go. Like I've said or implied, when you open up your mind and think about this, 32,000 for Portland, Maine can be relatively easy to fill if the attractions can draw outside the immediate population area. Within a 45 minute commute of Portland there are over one million people. And as I've also stated, indoors would almost double the capacity of TD Garden for indoor concerts for 7 months of the year. If you are in Southern NH (over one million people), why not drive to Portland instead of Boston? The traffic and parking are less problematic, and the food, drink, and lodging options outside the facility are just as fun. Portlanders, don't sell yourself short. There are new materials and techniques to use for building larger public venues now. And it takes intelligence and creativity and caring to not throw around money recklessly. Kaplan Thompson built the Friends School in Yarmouth for $4 million. It's won awards. Ask a city to build a school and the bill arrives at over $40 million.
