A true homecoming

After decades at Walnut Street Field, Salem opens its long-awaited on-campus football stadium, a modern facility touted as ‘top of the line’

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SALEM – The principal wasn’t sure he’d ever see it in his time as an administrator. Even as it was going up before his eyes, the head coach was hopeful but not sure if he’d see it this year.

But the new football stadium at Salem High School is up and running, and everyone involved in the progress can’t wait to get into it.

The Salem football team has been making memories at historic Walnut Street Field for generations, from the traditional players’ walk from campus to the great victories between the white lines, but Saturday it turns the page to a new chapter of memories with the opening of a modern on-campus stadium – just in time for Homecoming.

The Rams christen their yet-to-be-named 2,000-seat stadium with a noon game against West Deptford that has become a big game for so many reasons. To celebrate the occasion, admission to the game is free. School officials are inviting all former coaches, players and alums to attend.

The team closed decades of play at Walnut Street last week with a victory – its first of the season – and it’s eager to do the same in the first game in their new home that if they get it likely will qualify them for the Group I playoffs.

But win or lose, they’re just glad to have it open for business to give their players and fans what schools superintendent Dr. Patrick Michel called “something of their own … that reflected their talents, their gifts, their abilities, their pride.”

“Being an administrator here for 24 years and being a teacher here prior to that for two years I never thought I’d see a football stadium here,” principal John Mulhorn said. “I just didn’t think it was going to happen.”

But there it is, right behind the tennis courts and adjacent to the field hockey field.

When the school put a track on this piece of the campus’ 80 acres several years ago, the thought was there’d be a football stadium around it “sometime down the road,” but the process for making it happen was long and there were other priorities.

Besides, they had Walnut Street and team had been playing and winning there for years. But they had been leasing only the playing surface there, so when the city condemned the bleachers the Rams were forced to find another place to play. 

They went into this season expecting their days at Walnut Street to be over and scheduled all their games before October either on the road or at neutral sites as workers built the new stadium. But there wound up being three “last” games at Walnut Street before the end actually came.

They were forced to find a new venue for their Camden game when a conflict arose with the original game in Wilmington. Salem city crews worked diligently during the week to get The Nut back up to code and the game moved there. 

Since the field was functional again, the Rams moved their rivalry game with Penns Grove that originally was a home date back there the following week even though outside influences forced fan restrictions. They had hoped to debut the new stadium last week against Paulsboro, but bad weather interrupted the finishing touches, so they returned to Walnut Street for one last hurrah.

Workers have been racing against the clock to have the new stadium ready this week.

“We wanted to make sure we had a game this year in our stadium,” Mulhorn said. “What we weren’t going to let happen was let this senior class go through expecting to have this stadium ready for at least a couple games (and not deliver). Because of all the commitment from so many people wanted to make sure we have one game here.

“It’s not going to be perfect, but it’s one of those things that we just have to do it. It’s been a vision of so many people and so much hard work.”

The concession stand won’t be operational, but most everything else in the facility, financed through a $2.6 million bond issue, will be, especially the new scoreboard and jumbotron that has all the players excited. The playing surface will remain natural grass and there are no lights.

There are, however, play clocks in both end zones, but they won’t be functional this week as workers needed to move them to accommodate the quarterback’s line of sight.

“One of the things we wanted to make sure we did was if we’re going to have a stadium here, if we’re going to finance this project, we want to get top of the line,” Mulhorn said. “We always try to do the best for our kids, so we wanted the top-of-the-line scoreboard. We wanted a great press box. We didn’t want to say let’s build a stadium but build it half way … Our scoreboard, we wanted it to be the best in the county because that’s what our kids deserve.”

“All I’m looking for, to be honest, is to see myself on that jumbotron running into the end zone,” Rams quarterback Ramaji Bundy said. 

The football team had a bird’s eye view of the project and watched with growing anticipation the stadium take shape as they practiced on the field adjacent to the site. They expect to get in it for a little game simulation Friday.

School officials had training on the PA, scoreboard and jumbotron Thursday with Mulhorn making the first official announcement over the sound system.

Even the former players now on the coaching staff are jealous.

“I was jealous that I couldn’t play on it rather than coach,” said Dione Alston, who immediately preceded record-breaking running back Jonathan Taylor in the Rams’ backfield during his playing days. “It’s going to be super exciting for the them. They have the field right in their backyard now, the jumbotron, seats about 9,000. It’s very exciting. The kids are super excited. We’ve got to keep them focused on the actual game and not just playing in the stadium.”

While school officials admit part of them will miss good ol’ Walnut Street Field and wouldn’t completely rule out ever going back to play there for old time’s sake, with the new stadium up and running there are no immediate plans to return.

“You never say never, “ Mulhorn said, “but our plan is this is where we’re going to play our football games.”

“The kids will miss Walnut and that’s sad,” head coach Danny Mendoza said. “but I also think they’re understanding it’s a closed chapter to a new chapter that’s a little bit more exciting. That’s what you do this for, for the little stories and victories within itself. For us, it’d just be icing on the cake to be able to close (one stadium) and open (another) with a win.”