WILMINGTON — Salesianum welcomed a large crowd to campus on Nov. 1 to show off and dedicate the newest piece to its physical plant: Fusco Fields, a 250-square-foot expanse of turf that will provide the school with two full-size athletic fields and a new baseball facility.
The complex is named for the late Anthony Fusco, who died this past summer at 94. Fusco, a businessman and philanthropist, left school to work to help support his family. He is an honorary member of the Class of 2014 at Salesianum. He donated $10 million to Salesianum in the spring of 2023 for this project.
The fields are looking better than school president Thomas Kardish could have imagined.
“I don’t know about you, but this great Salesianum facility seems to be one of those rare things in life that even with very high expectations, it turned out way better than I thought it would,” he told the crowd at a plaza nestled between one of the lower fields and the baseball field, which sits up a small hill from the rest of the site. The plaza contains a plaque honoring Salesianum graduates who died in the line of duty as a first responder or in the military.
Kardish said it was appropriate that the dedication was held in November. The month is dedicated to remembering the deceased and is a month of thanksgiving. He said one of his wishes is that Fusco had lived long enough to see the results of his generosity.
“Tony invested in things that are catalysts for people and institutions to continue to evolve and develop,” Kardish said. “Tony had a lot of love to give, to his family, to his friends, to his business associates, to his parishes, to the leaders of his faith, and to those responsible for forming the next generations.”
Salesianum athletic director Katie Godfrey said that Fusco’s gift fits right in with the school’s purpose.
“He took a hold of a lot of projects, but he also took hold of people. Here at Salesianum, that is our mission,” she said. “His gift allowed us to build an absolute field of dreams right here in Wilmington.”
After a prayer led by Oblate Father Chris Beretta, Salesianum’s principal, students from various teams took bowls of holy water to bless different parts of the complex. Freshman football players went to an end zone, while soccer players blessed the spot where penalty kicks are taken. Members of the marching band blessed the sidelines where the band director stands, and rugby players blessed the scrum line. Finally, three baseball players ascended the hill to do the same to home plate. The baseball diamond is named after the late Oblate Father Robert Kenney, the legendary former coach and president of Salesianum.
Father Beretta said he went for a walk on Oct. 31 and went to the highest point in the bleachers and took a panoramic video. He did the same thing the next morning, and at the end of his video, there was a rainbow over the field, “and I thought, ‘He is indeed seeing and enjoying this moment.’”
The freshman football team has the honor of earning the school’s first win on the new turf. The varsity soccer team will open the DIAA Division I state tournament on Fusco Fields on Nov. 7 when Sussex Central visits. The match starts at 5 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
