Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
Bexar County commissioners this week voted to transfer land near Fox Tech High School to the development authority of a new downtown ballpark for the San Antonio Missions.
The San Pedro Creek Development Authority will own the ballpark after construction is completed in time for opening day in 2028. County commissioners and the San Antonio City Council voted this year to create the authority to develop the ballpark and surrounding area.
San Antonio Missions President Burl Yarbrough said the team is looking forward to the move from Nelson Wolff Stadium, on U.S. 90 West on San Antonio's Far West Side, to the heart of downtown.
"We're very excited to, you know, be moving into a new ballpark downtown," he said. "I think it's going to change the dynamics of professional baseball here in San Antonio.
The minor league baseball team is a Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres and plays in the Texas League. Yarbrough said it was time for the team to leave "The Wolff."
"We've been out here at The Wolff now, this is I think our 32nd year and, you know, MLB took over minor league baseball a few years ago and have told us, hey, it's not up to the standards they require now," he said.
The authority will own the ballpark and issue bonds to pay for its construction, pegged at $160 million. Revenue from the Houston Street tax increment reinvestment zone will back the bonds. Local property taxes are not impacted.
And the bonds will be repaid through a $1 million annual lease payment for use of the ballpark and $2 parking fee at the facility.
The ballpark will also be used for other public purposes.
The authority board is made up of three San Antonio city officials, three county officials, and three representatives from developer Weston Urban, and the Missions owners' Designated Bidders.
