“For the next 10, 15 or 20 years and longer, what is the highest and best use of the Bass Park complex?” says Miles Theeman, the chair of the Cross Insurance Center Advisory Board that is currently weighing the need for a long-range study on the future development of Bass Park. The track has always been in close proximity to the three Bangor auditoriums that have anchored the complex for more than a century.īut as the area has become more developed, parking and traffic congestion have become issues. Joseph Parker Bass, a former newspaper editor and state lawmaker, bequeathed the 80-acre parcel to the city in 1919 after organizing the Eastern Maine Fair, which included horse racing.
The panel of local residents and business leaders wants the city to initiate some long-range planning for the 80-acre Bass Park complex, which may not include harness racing.
