By Madison Iszler
Staff Writer SAEN
April 11, 2025
The owners of the Missions are checking off more boxes as they get closer to starting construction on a downtown ballpark and moving the Double-A team from its current home.
This week, the City Council without discussion approved creating a development authority to own and issue bonds tied to the Houston Street Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone for the stadium near San Pedro Creek Culture Park and Fox Tech High School. Council members also gave the go-ahead to the team owners to petition the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to create a municipal management district.
But there’s one unchecked box standing in the way of playing in a downtown stadium — securing the last piece of land for the $160 million project.
In order for the 4,500-seat stadium to become reality, team owners must gain control of a 2.3-acre lot that the San Antonio Independent School District owns along Cameron Street. SAISD’s board has asked for several concessions in return and a deal was struck. But although the board tentatively signed off on the deal, it has yet to officially approve the land transfer.
The district is slated to receive land donated by developer Weston Urban — whose co-founders are part of the group that owns the Missions — for construction of the district’s Advanced Learning Academy and a rent-free parking garage built by Bexar County. It also will get a waiver of rent for use of another county-owned garage along Quincy Street and a seat on the board of the San Antonio Housing Trust.
The city and county also would adopt five-year housing goals by the end of 2025 that include construction of at least 1,250 affordable units.
The school district is the only public entity to seek concessions in exchange for helping with the project. The board started with a longer wish list, but in December tentatively approved the deal featuring the pared-down list.
Trustees have largely remained mum since then although they did sign off on an amended memorandum of understanding in February, which calls for contracts between the district, city, county, Weston Urban and team owners to be hashed out by Aug. 1. The ballpark is expected to be finished by opening day in April 2028.
An SAISD spokesperson said this week that the district had no updates to share about the status of the negotiations, and neither board President Christina Martinez nor District 1 trustee Sarah Sorensen responded to interview requests. Several seats on the board are on the May 3 ballot, including District 1, where the ballpark will be built. Sorensen is seeking reelection to her second term, and her opponent is former state Rep. Michael Villarreal.
Bruce Hill, a member of the group that owns the Missions, declined to comment. County Judge Peter Sakai, through a spokesperson, said “everything is on track.” A spokesperson for the city said the negotiations are moving forward.
The ballpark would be built on lots east of Fox Tech that are mostly vacant now. Since the area is within a reinvestment zone, the city would set a base taxable value for the property. As values rise with new development, revenue above the base is collected by the city and Bexar County to reimburse developers for infrastructure upgrades and other public improvements.
Weston Urban plans to spearhead up to $1 billion worth of development around the ballpark, which will be built in four phases. The first two phases are expected to have a combined taxable value of $575 million and be finished in 2027 and 2029, respectively. The remaining two phases of the development around the stadium would be worth $425 million and are slated to be completed in 2030 and 2031, respectively.
But the development plan calls for demolishing the 381-unit Soap Factory Apartments, which Weston Urban bought in 2023. The complex is a rare affordable housing option in downtown, and the developer’s plan to raze it has been criticized by tenants, grassroots groups and some City Council members. Nevertheless, the council voted 9-2 last year to approve the financing deal.
Under the terms of the Missions owners’ deal with the city and county, bonds for the ballpark’s construction would be sold only when Weston Urban has its projects for the first two phases designed and financed.
The city and county will contribute their portions of the new revenue from that development, about $126 million, and the Missions’ owners will put in about $34 million. The team will pay $1 million annually to lease the ballpark for 30 years along with a $2 per-ticket fee, funds that would be used to pay off the bond debt.
Among the council’s actions Thursday was giving the team owners the green light to start the process of setting up a municipal management district. Such a district can levy additional taxes and fees on property owners within its boundaries to finance certain improvements and services, such as streets and sidewalks, and also can issue bonds. Under the district the team owners want to create, the new development would pay an assessment on the taxable value of the property along with property taxes. That money would be used to pay for debt service on the bonds.
The board of directors of the new ballpark authority, the San Pedro Creek Development Authority, would be made up of three representatives each from the city, Bexar County and the team/Weston Urban, according to city staff. The mayor, the city manager and the chief financial officer of the city would be the city’s representatives on the board.
Link to article:
https://www.expressnews.com/business/rea...ions-downtown-stadium-saisd-20269749.php
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