The Woodlands Township officially unveiled $1.5 million in improvements at the Bear Branch Sports Field on Feb. 20, which included a new playground, new parking space and a disc golf space.

The details

Township Chief Operations Officer Chris Nunes said the Bear Branch Sports Field on average sees 2,000 hours of use on a yearly basis, and the last round of improvements made to the field was in 2012.

The new improvements include:

• New enclosed bathrooms
• A playground area with equipment
• Additional parking space
• New disc golf space

Improvements to the Bear Branch Sports Field were initially brought before the township in 2022, and work formally began on the improvements in 2023.

Quotes of note

• "I want to thank [The Woodlands Township] board of directors, the township management and especially the residents of The Woodlands," Director of Parks and Recreation John McGowan said. "The field users ... definitely had their fingerprints all over the design of this and making sure we did things right."
• "On behalf of The Woodlands Township board of directors, I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed to making this project a reality," township board member Craig Eissler said. "Together, we've created a space where memories will be made for generations to come."
• "Through a very, very proactive maintenance plan, we have pushed [the lifespan of] those fields up to 10 to 12 years, which actually helps the return on investment these fields ," Nunes said. "3,000-plus people are coming through this park on a daily basis."