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The global design firm Populous has been tapped as the lead architect of the new downtown Missions ballpark set to open in April 2028.
The announcement was made on Thursday by the San Antonio Missions and its ownership group, Designated Bidders. The team is a Double-A minor league farm club of the San Diego Padres.
The move also comes after the City of San Antonio and Bexar County approved the creation of the San Pedro Creek Development Authority. The authority will own the ballpark and issue bonds to pay for its construction.
The San Antonio Independent School District also approved a memorandum of understanding involving the sale of a tract of land needed for the development to proceed.
“From the outset of this journey more than two years ago, our ownership group has been steadfast in its commitment to create a placemaking venue that keeps affiliated professional baseball in San Antonio, anchors an economic transformation to an important part of downtown and is a gathering place for generations of families in San Antonio and South Texas,” said Missions Board Chair and Designated Bidders investor Bruce Hill.
Architectural renderings of the new Missions ballpark are due to be released this summer. Groundbreaking dates will follow soon afterward.
The firm has designed more than 75 major and minor league ballparks in the last three decades, including Southwest University Park in El Paso.
The firm also designed Segra Stadium, home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, a Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.
The new home of the Missions will offer views of downtown and sit adjacent to the San Pedro Creek Cultural Park that runs through the west end of downtown. The park offers water features, including a lighted waterfall, art installations, public performance areas, wide foot paths, and native plants and wildlife.
The Missions have played at Wolff Stadium on U.S. 90 West since 1994, but Major League Baseball deemed the facility out of date with league standards, prompting local leaders to call for a new stadium to keep the team in San Antonio.
