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Carrabassett Valley Academy to build new $2 million center at Sugarloaf

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Architect's rendering of new competition center.
Architect’s rendering of new Competition Center at Sugarloaf which will be named for Bill and Joan Alfond. 
CVA Weekend Program athletes and coaches at Sugarloaf Mountain.
CVA Weekend Program athletes and coaches at Sugarloaf Mountain. (CVA photo)

CARRABASSETT VALLEY – Carrabassett Valley Academy has received a $1 million grant from the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation in support of building a new Competition Center at Sugarloaf. This substantial commitment from the foundation will help make this long-awaited new facility a reality and honors the longstanding partnership among the Sugarloaf Ski Club, CVA and Sugarloaf.

Competition has always been the mainstay of all three organizations, from the early days of the famed “Sugarloaf Schuss” to the World Cup. Sugarloaf’s competition program has provided thousands of Maine students with much more than racing and medals; it has served to connect young athletes with a supportive community and provide them with opportunities to interact with athletes from around the country and at the highest level in the sport.

“On behalf of CVA, the Sugarloaf Ski Club and Sugarloaf, I would like to express our tremendous gratitude to the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation for their extraordinary support of this project,” said Earle Morse, chairman of the CVA Board of Trustees. “Competition has been at the heart of our organizations from the very beginning and this new facility will allow us to expand this tradition, bolstering Sugarloaf’s standing as a world-class competition venue, providing a new home for the Sugarloaf Ski Club and offering a warm and welcoming hub for the next generation of athletes and their families.”

The 11,000 square foot Competition Center will be at the same location as the current facility but will be expanded. Planners said the key building design tenets for the expanded center are functionality, durability, beauty and financial prudence. The Center will include day lodge space, tuning and waxing facilities, locker rooms, a trainers’ room, meeting space and offices.

The new Center will be named for Bill and Joan Alfond in recognition of their generosity and support of the project.

“On behalf of my family and the foundation, I am very pleased to support this impressive partnership that is bringing a new Competition Center to Sugarloaf,” said Bill Alfond, president of the Bill and Joan Alfond Foundation. “Not only will the new facility continue to inspire Maine youth to raise their aspirations through athletics but it will also be an important economic driver for the region.”

Construction on the new $2.1 million facility is set to begin in May 2016 and will be complete by November 2016, ensuring that the new building will be fully operational and tested in advance of the U.S. Alpine Championships, which return to Sugarloaf in March 2017. In addition to the lead gift from the Alfonds, Carrabassett Valley Academy and the Sugarloaf Ski Club are working diligently to raise an additional $850,000 needed to complete the project.

The partners envision that the new Competition Center will be about much more than competition – it will be a multi-generational, four-season gathering space, providing a warm and welcoming social venue for Sugarloafers and visitors for generations to come. Read more information about the project here.

CVA alpine racers Sean Sullivan, Henry Kearing, Eli Pangburn, and Dev Thomas - forerunners at the 2015 U.S. Alpine Championships hosted by Sugarloaf Mountain.
CVA alpine racers Sean Sullivan, Henry Kearing, Eli Pangburn, and Dev Thomas, forerunners at the 2015 U.S. Alpine Championships hosted by Sugarloaf Mountain. (CVA photo)
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