San Antonio reveals plan for new Missions downtown baseball stadium

• City officials revealed new details about the previously secret ballpark and said it will move forward alongside massive new downtown development likely to include apartments, restaurants and hotel rooms.

The big picture: City and business leaders are hopeful that bringing sports downtown could revive a central business district now largely reliant on tourism that was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What they're saying: "Today we're looking at a framework that's innovative, that protects San Antonio taxpayers, that produces public amenities in areas of our community that, frankly, need investment," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

Zoom in: A new downtown ballpark for the San Antonio Missions, a Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, could have about 4,500 seats and capacity for up to 7,500 people, city documents show. (That's smaller than the current stadium, which has 6,200 seats and capacity for more than 9,000.)

• It could be completed by April 2028.
• A new public parking garage could also accompany the project.
• Four phases of new private development, totaling $1 billion in taxable value and surrounding the stadium, could be completed in 2027, 2029, 2030 and 2031.

State of play: The stadium is planned for a portion of west downtown between Camaron and North Flores streets south of Kingsbury Street, with development immediately to the south and west.

• Residents of the Soap Factory Apartments will be displaced and offered relocation opportunities.

Context: The Missions have played at the West Side Nelson Wolff Stadium since 1994. Major League Baseball officials have said the stadium is too old and not up to minor league standards, and have asked the team's owners to have a plan for a new ballpark in place by Aug. 1 of this year.

• Last month, to meet that deadline, Mayor Nirenberg and County Judge Peter Sakai signed a non-binding letter of intent to let the MLB know the city and county are on board to support a new ballpark through funding, maintenance and operation.

Flashback: A group of local investors, led by downtown developer Graham Weston of Weston Urban, bought the Missions in late 2022, bringing the team under local ownership for the first time since the 1980s.

• The new owners also include former Spurs legends David Robinson and Manu Ginobili and former Mayor Henry Cisneros.
• Weston Urban owns a number of properties in west downtown, including the Frost Tower.

By the numbers: The project could cost about $160 million for the ballpark alone, city officials say.

How it works: A new San Pedro Creek Development Authority formed by the city and Bexar County would own the ballpark. That authority plans to issue bonds backed by revenue captured through taxes from the new private development.

• There is no extra tax cost to residents.
• The Missions team is contributing about $34 million.
• There will also be a $2 fee on Missions tickets to help cover the cost.
• The city is also expecting to pay annually into a maintenance and improvement fund.

Zoom out: Ongoing reports of the Spurs moving downtown appear to be separate from the Missions' plans at this point, and are more focused on east downtown near the former Institute of Texan Cultures building.

What's next: The City Council and Bexar County Commissioners Court could vote in the fall on any funding agreements for the new baseball stadium.