WEST PARIS – The wooden grandstand at the Harold C. Perham Athletic Complex burned flat Thursday and fire officials suspect the blaze was intentionally set.

About 4:30 p.m., fire crews went to the complex on High Street and found the bleachers fully engulfed.

“There is no electricity to the building but she was going pretty good when we got there,” West Paris Fire Chief Norm St. Pierre said.

Crews contained the blaze to the area, but by the time it was over, the historic grandstand was gone and the shell around it was destroyed.

“It burned so bad, we had to knock the shell down with a bucket loader,” St. Pierre said. “The grandstand burned flat. There wasn’t much left at all.”

The area beneath the bleachers had been used for storage, the chief said. Items such as riding lawn mowers and pitching machines were kept there.

Fire officials said there were indications that the fire had been set and the investigation was expected to continue into the weekend.

“We’re following up a bunch of leads,” St. Pierre said.

The Thursday afternoon fire was not the first time the grandstand and surrounding area had seen trouble. Ten years ago, the lower ball fields at the complex were damaged by flooding. Repairs were made soon after and a new field was added, bringing the total number of fields at the complex to four.

St. Pierre said there have been signs in the past that someone wanted to cause further damage to the grandstand.

“We’ve had a couple occurrences before when someone’s tried to burn it down,” the chief said.

The grandstand consisted of 70- by 30-foot bleachers and was at least 60 years old, St. Pierre said. It was a popular spot for watching baseball or for getting out of the sun on a hot day. It was not immediately known whether the bleachers would be rebuilt.

“There’s a lot of sentimental value there to the townspeople,” St. Pierre said.

Betty Jones, president of the West Paris Historical Society, said news of the fire made her “very” sad.

“I cried, in fact,” she said.

Staff writer Dirk Langeveld contributed to this report.