After two decades of planning and three years of construction, New Braunfels has finally opened the Zipp Family Sports Park, a roughly 150-acre complex built for youth, recreational and tournament play. Phase 1, with newly finished fields, parking and backbone infrastructure, was celebrated at a community grand opening on June 20, 2026. City leaders say the site is meant to attract regional tournaments, boost visitor spending and give residents a long-term home base for local sports.
Park layout and opening day
The park sits at 1655 W. Klein Road and includes baseball, softball and soccer facilities designed for tournament use, according to the City of New Braunfels park page. To christen the complex, the city staged a daylong grand-opening celebration that featured a 3K run, MLB Pitch, Hit & Run and soccer shootouts. The complex opened with 12 fields, four each for baseball, softball and soccer, according to MySA.
Funding and land history
The project, described as a 150-acre sports park, carried an estimated price tag of about $41.1 million and was funded through voter-approved bond elections, a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department grant and support from the New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation, according to Community Impact. The Zipp family helped assemble the footprint for the park by selling roughly 123.5 acres to the city in 2017 and later donating additional acreage, local reporting and city records show.
Design, water savings and infrastructure
Designers worked with the site's natural grades and created a two-phase master plan that preserves room for future fields and amenities, according to Norris Design and the project's technical specifications. The complex was built with reclaimed-water irrigation and other measures intended to lower maintenance and potable-water needs, per the project's specifications on the city's site. The New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation also committed capital to support on-site infrastructure and a planned commercial component that is intended to help the park function year-round.
What comes next
The park sits inside Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 4, created by the City Council in November 2025, and City of New Braunfels materials show the TIRZ will capture 85% of the ad valorem tax increment within its boundaries and is projected to generate about $5.1 million over 25 years. The site also includes a reclaimed-water system supported by an on-site 500,000-gallon storage tank and native landscaping, sustainability details described in local reporting by Community Impact.
Tournament organizers are already listing competitive events at the park and the city has engaged a firm to pursue sponsorship and naming-rights opportunities. Industry listings show upcoming events at the site and MySA reported on the sponsorship push, while tournament pages such as PlayNCS list the park as a host site.
Local league leaders say the extra capacity should ease pressure on crowded fields and help New Braunfels teams compete for more home tournaments, while city officials point to the park as a multi-use community asset that will serve residents for years. With Phase 1 now open and additional fields planned, attention is turning to day-to-day operations, long-term partnerships and future expansions.
