The Early Independent School District accepted a bid from the City of Early to purchase McDonald Field at their regular meeting Monday evening.

According to Early City Administrator Tony Aaron, the city had been working with EISD to draw up a longterm lease of the property; however, EISD’s attorney advised them a sale of the property would be a better decision than lease.  Aaron stated that a lease could complicate receiving grant funds and by purchasing the property, the city would be investing improvements into a property they will now own.

The city had funds allocated in the 2015-2016 budget for park improvements that allowed the city to make the $40,000 bid for the purchase of the property from EISD.

Aaron stated that the city plans to initially upkeep and maintain the property along with making improvements to the track for walking.  Eventually basketball and sand volleyball courts will be added to make it more of a multi-use facility.  The city intends to make the property more diverse than the current city park that is more oriented to baseball and softball.

“There are ties to the community that the field has, it’s been a very nostalgic place, full of memories of sporting events of the community,” said Aaron.  “If a dedication is made in the future, the city plans to keep it named with the McDonald family in mind.”

Pictured above is a rendering published on the City of Early’s Facebook page showing the possible ideas of future development of the park.  Aaron stressed that the photo was “for demonstration purposes only.”