Macon-Bibb County broke ground on a new softball field at the Carolyn Crayton Park Softball Complex on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. There are currently six softball fields that are used for games and practices, but a seventh field is coming to the complex.
County officials say this project will be completed by June of 2026.
Many people in Macon know Carolyn Crayton Park as the home for the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival every Spring, but they might have missed is a softball complex at the back of the park that has hosted many softball games and travel tournaments for decades.
Gary Wheat, the President and CEO of Visit Macon, explained that sports tourism generated 18 million dollars in revenue in 2025 from 45 events in Macon-Bibb County. Leaders are hoping this new field will continue this trend.
Dr. Keith Moffitt, the manager of Macon-Bibb County, says that he wants to continue to see the growth in sports tourism, stating that “this project will transform recreation and tourism in Macon.”
Robert Walker, the Director of Parks and Rec, has a reason to be excited about the new field coming to the complex. “I am so happy that this field is being built because we want to make up the money that Macon-Bibb County lost from not having tournaments between 2020 and 2022,” he explained.
Walker also says that Carolyn Crayton Park is his favorite park because “you can walk around and feel the energy that is here from Luther Williams Field and the other fields.”
The field being renovated, Field No. 7, also holds a special place in the movie industry. Back in 2013, it was used in the film “42,” about Jackie Robinson.
Edna Adams, the Communications Director for Macon-Bibb County, says that the field was “left sitting empty for a while” and that this renovation “allows the complex to continue to grow and become new again.”
Walter Stafford, the CEO of Stafford Builders, who is the contractor for the project, agrees you never know who will play at that field asking “Who knows what softball player will come through here.”
Raymond Wilder, the commissioner for Macon-Bibb County District 8, remembers the softball complex and played in games there when he was younger.
He said, when I was younger, “I used to play and run here when I was 20 and 30 years old.” He also explains that fields 5 and 6 have recently been redone, and he is excited that field number 7 is coming to the complex. “The complex is a great thing,” he says.
