Is it that difficult to have a good softball field?

Apparently it is. We come across so many stories of inferior softball fields here at the Title IX Blog. One would think schools would wise up and improve conditions before complaints and lawsuits are filed.
The latest softball-related lawsuit is on its way to being settled in Galveston, Texas. Parents of Ball High softball players charged Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX violations--the former charges have been dropped (as have the lawsuits citing individual school administrators) but the exact conditions of the Title IX settlement have not been released. But the school board has acknowledged disparity does exist. And part of the settlement is being enacted: a new softball facility that the high school will not have to share with the community and other institutions is being built and will include a press box, locker rooms, concession stand, bleachers with a 400-person capacity, lighting, and a paved parking lot.
I don't know the going rate of new softball fields and the necessary accessories, but I would think rather than spending $1.74 million all at once (as the Galveston Independent School District is being required to do) a commitment to remedy the situation by making improvements over time might have appeased most players and parents and been less of an economic hardship.