BIDDEFORD — Despite graduating from Biddeford High School 10 years ago, Jordan Fields says his alma mater is still dear to his heart.

So the Class of 2007 graduate, along with another BHS alumni, Randy Forcier, Class of 2000, put their time and money where their mouth is.

After recently learning about the need for donations to help with the renovation of Waterhouse Field, the two — both former high school and college football players — put their heads together and came up with a plan to raise funds for the cause. They raised over $3,000 through the Boating for Bleachers event in Portland aboard the Casablanca Cruise Line

“Over 150 community members came to show their support for the project, the city of Biddeford and its youth, and Tiger pride,” said Fields in a recent email.

Superintendent Jeremy Ray, many school administrators and faculty were also aboard.

Fields said he moved away from the area for a while but came back and opened a business in Portland, he said he likes to hold a fundraiser each year to raise money for different charities.

“We were brainstroming ideas,” he said in a telephone interview Wednesday, “and my friend Randy Forcier said ‘why don’t we do it for that (Waterhouse Field).’”

“It seemed like the perfect opportunity to give back to our community that gave us so much,” Fields said. “We want to help any way we can. Even if I’m not physically on the sidelines, but I’m still there.”

“I was going to games even before I went to high school,” said Forcier, who lives in Biddeford and has a mortgage company in Saco. “Waterhouse Field is the field I grew up playing on. It’s the field my kids will play on someday.”

“I just want to help,” he said  by phone Thursday. “I try to be a part of the community anyway I can.”

The field, constructed in 1929, is owned by the nonprofit Waterhouse Field Alumni Association.

For a number years, school officials have said that the bleachers at the field needed to be replaced and other renovations were needed. In April, the stadium was closed as the bleachers were deemed unsafe. Volunteers removed the unsafe bleachers and have done a lot of other work at the field.

A welcome boost came from the city when the City Council voted to refinance a $34 bond that was used to pay for the renovation of the high school, which was completed in 2012. The refinancing ended up giving the city $1.17 million and the council is putting that money toward the Waterhouse project. It is being used for new bleachers for 2,000 people, new lights, a new scoreboard, an audio system and exterior fencing. The lights and digital scoreboard are already up.

With temporary bleacher in place — the news aren’t ready yet — the BHS Tigers played their first game of the season at Waterhouse Field on Sept. 1 and have been playing every home game there ever since.

More funds are needed for the ongoing renovation, Fields said, and added that he and Forcier are ready to do whatever they can to assist what they feel is a very worthy cause.

“I don’t think I’d be where I am without those experiences on and off the field,” Fields said.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be reached at 282-1535, ext. 324, or dmendros@journaltribune.com. Sports Editor Pat McDonald contributed to this article.