Game On: Fall Teams Will Play at Alumni Stadium

Summer vacation has been far from relaxing for athletics director Ed Harrison.

After what the Wildcat fall sports schedule would look like due to the appeals of the new high school construction, school officials are finally able to get to work solidifying venues for the upcoming sports season.

Artificial turf installation was , then was pushed back due to an appeal so that it would be ready for the Thanksgiving Day football game. However, there is .

As a result, Wilmington fall teams will now play home games at Alumni Stadium rather than on alternate fields and out of town on neutral sites as would have been necessary if the turf construction was underway.

“It’s been a frustrating few months to say the least,” said Harrison. “The biggest issue or problem was just not knowing. The athletics directors in the Middlesex League have been very good. They have an understanding of what we’re going through, and they’re just waiting on us.”

Field hockey, boys soccer, girls soccer and football teams will each play five games at Alumni Stadium, as has been the case in past years.

The specifics of the schedule have not been finalized yet, but will be at some point next week. Harrison said many games were originally slated as day games, but now can be moved to night start times if agreed upon by the opposing school.

Once Harrison contacts each opposing athletics director, something he said is a challenge during summer months, he will make the schedule official.

“The kids knew just as much as we knew, and it was really a waiting game,” said Harrison. “I would imagine that for them to play out there as seniors is probably the only bright spot out of the whole situation.”

But the school is not completely out of the woods with its scheduling dilemma. Because the gymnasium was scheduled to be demolished by winter, Harrison had worked with surrounding schools for alternate venues for basketball season.

With the appeals still unresolved, it’s unclear whether or not Wildcat cagers will have the opportunity to play on the high school hardwood.

“We have contingency plans for if the gym wasn’t here in the winter,” said Harrison. “Obviously if it’s here, then it’s status quo and we go on like normal.”

Though the Wilmington athletics director said it’s been frustrating having plans up in the air, he knows he isn’t the only one in the district feeling that way.

“It’s stressful, but not just for athletics,” said Harrison. “The new school is something we’ve all been waiting for. It’s just too bad it has to happen like this.”