SANDWICH – A dedication ceremony for the new Sandwich High School Sports Complex will be held on October 23 at 6 p.m.
Following the dedication, the Blue Knights football team will take the field on the new artificial turf field.
The Captain Gerald DeConto USN Veterans Memorial Stadium was named after the star athlete at Sandwich High who died on duty in the Pentagon in the 9/11 attack.
The family donated $525,000 that ignited public and private support for the stadium.
Town, state leaders and school officials will give remarks during a ceremony that will feature a formal turnover of custody of the complex to the Sandwich School Committee.
“Blue Knight Pride is the theme of the event,” said Gerald DeConto’s brother David DeConto, who also served as the project’s chairman. “The complex is here for the students of Sandwich High and all other Sandwich schools, as well as for the general public. We want the dedication to reflect the role the complex will play in student and community life.”
The complex features the 1,500 seat DeConto Stadium, complete with a press box and scoreboard.
The complex also includes a state-of-the-art track and field area, a synthetic grass turf field as well as highly illuminated light poles for night use and visitors’ seating.
The concessions will soon be housed in a permanent building, and a field house with athletes’ locker rooms and public restrooms is planned for the future.
A walkway leads from public parking up to a Veterans Memorial Circle that sits adjacent to the complex, and is dedicated to not only veterans but also includes special messages from family and friends.
“The DeConto Stadium and the Sports Complex constitute the largest public project Sandwich has undertaken in many years,” said DeConto. “This handoff to the School Committee adds a splendid new, state-of-the-art Stadium and Sports Complex worth more than $3 million to our town properties, with a combination of public and private donations.”
DeConto added that a direct appropriation fund to ensure continued upkeep of the sports complex has been discussed.
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