Kevin Schohl, Hearts of Pine club president, in the stands at Fitzpatrick Stadium where renovations have begun, including the removal of the turf surface. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

With one eye on the weather and the other focused on its immediate future, the Portland Hearts of Pine have begun significant construction renovations to make Fitzpatrick Stadium its usable home.

Gone is the old artificial surface field, rolled into massive strips that were being loaded onto flatbed trailers Wednesday. Local contractors were busy putting new, primed clapboard siding and outdoor stairs on the three press box structures. Inside the dilapidated press boxes, ratty carpet and stained ceiling tiles had been removed.

It’s more tangible evidence that Portland’s USL League One professional men’s soccer team, which will debut in the spring, is financing significant improvements to the city-owned facility.

“Our club is investing over $2.5 million into this publicly owned stadium for the benefit of athletes of all ages who use it,” said Hearts of Pine President Kevin Schohl in a joint press release with the City of Portland’s Parks, Recreation, and Facilities department, as well as Portland Public Schools.

On Wednesday, Schohl and Hearts founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson discussed the process with media. The work is being done now, they said, to lessen the impact on Portland schools and public use of the facility.

“It’s just another big step toward our first home game,” Hoffman-Johnson said. “I think at this point there’s a little apprehension around timelines and some of those things, but we’re just happy to be here where we are now.

“I’m excited that some of these upgrades that we’re able to provide, not only for us but for everyone else that uses this facility, that plays here every day, I think that’s important. There’s so much history and legacy at this facility.”

USL League One is expected to have 14 teams in 2025, with a schedule that runs from mid-March to November.

The new artificial surface field, with a sand-and-rubber infill, will be installed by GeoSurfaces, a Louisiana company whose clients include the New England Patriots and several Maine high schools, such as Waynflete, Scarborough, Brewer and Fryeburg Academy.

Laser grading of the existing subsurface is scheduled for next week. Then a specialized safety pad, made of interlocking foam pads, will be installed, followed by the rolling out and installation of the new, green field that will not have any sewn-in lines or emblems.

Workers from Diversacorp hang siding on the press box at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Wednesday. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Installation of a solid green field will speed installation significantly, making it feasible to do the work in the winter when the temperature is above freezing.

Schohl said lines will be painted on the field. The painted lines are expected to hold up for several weeks or more. During the fall the field will be lined for football, field hockey and soccer. In the spring, a lacrosse field will be painted on.

“We’re not trying to play on a perfectly green field all the time,” Schohl said. “That’s not realistic for us because it’s a multi-use and shared field.”

The previous field, with sewn-in lines for all sports, was installed in the spring of 2015. That’s also when Portland High’s Bulldog logo debuted at midfield.

Anyone walking or playing on the field on Nov. 23, when Portland won the Maine Principals’ Association Class A football championship, could easily see signs of deterioration, including worn lines and excessive infill pebbles on the top of the surface.

Ethan Hipple, the director of Portland Parks, Recreation and Facilities, said the issue of lines was a negotiation point between the city and the club. He also noted that the Bulldog logo only appeared when the 2015 turf was installed.

Workers load rolls of used turf onto a flatbed truck at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Wednesday. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

The city would have preferred permanent lines, Hipple said in an interview with the Press Herald in October.

“In any negotiation, there are going to be things that one or both parties aren’t going to like,” Hipple said. “We as the city got a lot of what we wanted, including a new turf field we don’t have to pay for, but one of the items we ended up compromising on was, we gave up on sewn-in lines.”

Hipple said the semi-permanent paint will likely be put on twice each sports season and “the team will pay for it.”

Press box improvements will focus on utility, including installing new floors and ceiling tiles, making the stairs safe (one set of stairs was removed prior to the fall sports season for safety reasons), and adding fresh paint inside and out. Upgrades in the electrical and internet capacity were done during this past summer’s ground-work stage.

Field installation and press box improvements are the focus in December. Installing new energy efficient LED lighting is scheduled for January. Two modular-style locker rooms – manufactured by WillScot at its Auburn location – will be delivered and outfitted for locker room use in February, Schohl said.

Kevin Schohl, Portland Hearts of Pine club president, in the stands at Fitzpatrick Stadium on Wednesday. Renovations have begun at the facility, including the removal of the turf surface. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

At an October city council meeting, where the council approved the planned improvements, several residents expressed concern that the new pro soccer team will negatively impact high school sports. Several cited that has already happened because of lease agreements with the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field and the Maine Celtics at the Portland Exposition Building; both are home sites for Portland High.

In Wednesday’s joint press release, Ryan Scallon, superintendent of Portland Public Schools, said the school system “looks forward to continuing to partner with Hearts of Pine. Before the first kickoff or goal, Hearts of Pine have begun to build a strong partnership with our students.”