Bright Star Field at Buford Park Got Built Once the City Stopped Buying It Whole

In January 2015, Bright Star Baseball's plan for its own field at Buford Park needed nearly half a million dollars, and the league hoped to break ground in spring 2017. That's how KSST reported it at the time. Ten years later, the lowest of ten construction bids came in at $1,543,649.08 with its alternate, and with equipment and parking added, the projected cost passed $1.6 million. The Sulphur Springs City Council turned down every bid.

Fourteen months after that vote, the field is finished. Rejecting the bids pushed the City into a cheaper way to build, and that is why there is now a completed ballfield across from the Skate Park.

A Plan That Started With One Organizer

Bright Star Baseball calls itself the Miracle League of Sulphur Springs. It's a baseball league for players with special needs, ages five and up. In the 2015 KSST story, Veronica Yost had worked to bring the league to town and was part of the push to raise money for what the league called "Celebration Field, Home of Bright Star Baseball."

From the start, the plan called for a specific kind of field. The league's 2016 fundraising campaign described a rubberized synthetic surface. It would make it easier for players using wheelchairs and walkers to get around, and it would keep a wet spring from canceling games. Games pair each player with a volunteer "buddy," as a 2016 KSST season notice described.

The spring 2017 groundbreaking didn't happen. The fundraising kept going, and the City later used it to help pay for the build.

The August 2025 Vote

By summer 2025, the City, Bright Star Baseball and the engineering firm Kimley-Horn had spent about a year designing what city records then called the Miracle League Field. On July 15, 2025, ten sealed bids came in. The August 5, 2025 council minutes list what the City had to spend and what the lowest bid would cost:

• Money available: up to $535,000 from a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant, $184,000 donated by Bright Star Baseball, and $351,500 budgeted by the City, which the minutes total as $1,071,000
• Lowest bid: TCMC Commercial, LP, at $1,431,504 base plus a $112,145.08 alternate, or $1,543,649.08
• Not included in the bids: about $90,325 for concession equipment and parking
• Total construction cost, as the minutes state it: $1,634,974.08
• Shortfall, as the minutes state it, including $125,000 in Kimley-Horn fees: $687,974.08

The minutes summarize City Manager Marc Maxwell's reaction:

"Manager Maxwell explained that at first he thought the bids were taking advantage of the city but after a closer look decided that the whole project is grossly overdesigned."

He suggested the City could redesign the project and hire contractors itself, which could cut the shortfall by more than half. Donna Williams told the council that they fully supported the City acting as its own general contractor. After a long discussion, the council voted unanimously to reject all bids.

That vote decided how the field would be built. One general contractor pricing the whole job in one bid had produced a number the City couldn't pay. So the City split the job up and managed it itself.

Building It in Pieces

At the June 2, 2026 council meeting, Parks Director Maynard explained what had changed. Staff had worked with Kimley-Horn to revise the plans and cut costs. Instead of hiring one general contractor, they got separate proposals for each part of the project.

The first contract was for the concession stand, the bathrooms and the sidewalks around that building. The council hired RBC Construction through TIPS, a national purchasing co-op that runs its own competitive bidding, so the City didn't have to put out sealed bids again. The TPWD grant requires Build America, Buy America compliance, and RBC provided a letter saying it would meet those rules. The minutes put the redesigned project's budget at $1,169,185, paid for by the TPWD grant, Bright Star Baseball's donations and City matching funds. That vote was also unanimous.

At the same meeting, Councilman Julian announced a public groundbreaking for "the future Celebration Field" on June 3, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at Buford Park, across from the Skate Park. The location fits a long-standing plan. A 2019 KSST story on the parks and open space master plan placed a proposed Bright Star field on the park's southwest side.

Where It Stands in Mid-October

The most recent update is Maxwell's report to the council on October 6, which the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram published. For what the report now calls Bright Star Field, or Celebration Field at Buford Park, it lists:

• Field construction: 100% complete
• Concession stand and bathrooms: 75% complete
• Sidewalks, curbs and driveway: about 40% complete, with about 115 cubic yards of concrete already poured
• Landscaping and irrigation: planned for mid-October
• Utilities: 340 feet of new 6-inch water main, a 2-inch water service and meter, one fire hydrant, and a stub-out for future use at the ballfield

Public Works crews did the excavating, set the forms and poured the concrete, and the City's utility crews laid the water line. When Maxwell suggested in 2025 that the City could run the job itself, this is what he meant.

The money to finish is already set aside. The adopted fiscal year 2027 budget, approved September 16, 2026, lists $472,893 in FY2027 spending for the Buford Park Miracle Field. As of this week, the City hasn't announced an opening date, dedication or ribbon cutting. The same report doesn't say what surface was installed, so the rubberized field from the original campaign is still unconfirmed.

The Same Crews Are Working on Other Ballfields

The October report shows the same approach at other city parks. The City finished replacing the lights on three of the six baseball and softball fields at Coleman Park with LEDs. That $250,000 job was paid for by a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office, and the City plans to apply for another grant to do the other three fields. City electricians also switched some of the Buford Park ballfield lights to LED and fixed pole lights at Pacific Park that weren't working.

Both projects work the same way as the Bright Star field. The City finds a grant, does what that money covers, and goes after more grant money for the rest.

The new field also joins a busy park. The City's parks page lists Buford Park at the west end of Connally Street, with lighted baseball fields, the Kids Kingdom playground, walking and jogging trails, gazebos, a pavilion, a pond and boardwalk, the skateboard park and a basketball court. With a concession stand and bathrooms next to the new field, families at the playground or skate park will have them close by too.

Monday Nights Until Then

Bright Star Baseball already plays at Buford Park. Its spring 2026 season announcement invited families to games every Monday night at 6 p.m. The first game was March 23, 2026. Player and buddy registration opened January 13 and closed February 10. The league hasn't posted dates for next season yet. If it follows the same schedule, registration would open in January and close in February.

The league registers buddies as well as players each season, so neighbors can sign up to help. The 2015 campaign hoped to break ground in 2017. The field is finished now, and the concession stand, bathrooms and sidewalks are the last pieces left.

At Renee Jennings, we watch for projects like this because they show what Sulphur Springs gets done together. If you want to know when the ribbon cutting is announced, or how city park projects like this one affect your part of town, contact us. We're glad to share what we're following.