NEW CASTLE – Spirits were as bright as the summer sun at William Penn High School on Aug. 28, where current and former students joined administrators and representatives from the Colonial School District to celebrate the beginning of a new era for Colonials athletics.
Cherry and black were the colors of the day as the district turned the first shovels in a ceremonial groundbreaking for William Penn’s athletics complex. Officials say the project will benefit not only the athletes who will compete there, but the entire New Castle community.
“This is a huge day for William Penn, for the Colonial School District, and, more importantly, for the New Castle community,” said Gabe Phillips, a Colonial spokesman and a 1996 William Penn alumnus. “This truly is a new era for Colonial, for William Penn because this new facility makes sure that all of our student athletes have the spaces, resources and opportunities they deserve.”
Construction will transform the campus and, when completed, will give William Penn facilities like few others in Delaware. The centerpiece is a new multipurpose stadium that will be the home of the football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and track teams. An eight-lane track will surround a regulation-size turf field with lights, bringing a new era of Friday night football to Basin Road. In fact, all teams will have the opportunity to play in prime time, Phillips said.
That field will be connected to a fieldhouse that includes bathrooms, weight room, concessions, offices and a dedicated press box. Two additional turf fields with seating will be located toward the rear of the property near the current football facility, Bill Cole Stadium. That will be transformed into a tennis and pickleball complex. Outdoor classrooms also are in the plans.
Both the baseball and softball fields will be converted to turf surfaces. The grounds will also include grass practice fields, and there will be new bathroom facilities throughout the complex.
The entire complex will be fenced, and there will be a state-of-the-art weapon-detection system. Parking will be expanded and the lots repaired, and there will be an additional entry and exit point on Frenchtown Road. Members of the community will be able to use the facilities.
Athletic director and football coach Matt Sabol said the groundbreaking represented a new era for Colonials athletics. He mentioned some of the legendary coaches and administrators who preceded him and thanked them for the work those people invested in William Penn. He also praised current and former William Penn athletes.
“We are lucky, appreciative and extremely thankful to our community members for approving this project,” Sabol said.
The project is an investment not only in athletics, but in community and pride, Phillips said.
School board president Chris Piecuch, a William Penn graduate, said the board was repeatedly told there was no way this project would ever happen. But the groundbreaking represented so much more than sports for the school, the district and the community.
“Today, we’re making an investment in our community,” he said. “We’re making an investment in our students, and we’re making an investment in our entire future.”
The complex will give students not only a place to practice and compete, but to make memories that will last far beyond their graduation, Piecuch said. He added that New Castle has “an underdog spirit,” of which it is proud. He said he wants people driving by to see more than the facilities.
“I want them to see a community that believes in its children,” Piecuch said.
Colonial School District residents approved the $122 million capital referendum in 2024 to make the project possible. It also will include other improvements to the high school building and other district schools.
William Penn will become the first traditional public school above the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to have turf and lights. Several have lights without turf.
Phillips said the hope is that this will be the final year for football in Bill Cole Stadium. The Colonials open their season at home on Sept. 3 against St. Georges Tech. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
