Ballpark comes into focus in downtown San Antonio
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A rendering shows a planned Minor League Baseball stadium in downtown San Antonio. Rendering: Courtesy of city of San Antonio
San Antonio is getting its first look at designs for a new Minor League Baseball stadium downtown surrounded by apartments and hotel rooms.
Why it matters: Team owners aim to transform downtown, an area known as a tourist mecca, into a destination for locals.
Driving the news: The owners of the San Antonio Missions shared the designs ahead of their review by a city commission scheduled for 3pm Wednesday.
Zoom in: The development plans include a 27-story apartment building with 410 units, a 14-story apartment building with 271 units and an 8-story hotel with about 160 rooms. All would have space for retail or other businesses on the ground floor. They would sit south of the planned ballpark, which is near San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
- The 27-story building would be partially at the site of the Soap Factory Apartments. It includes the renovation of the 1950 San Fernando gymnasium nearby.
- The 14-story apartment building, called The Yard Residences, is planned alongside a 389-space parking garage.
- The Yard Hotel could include a coffee shop and bar.
Catch up quick: Plans have previously shown 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 a capacity of up to 7,500 people. That's smaller than Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium on the West Side, where the team plays and which the MLB has said is not up to league standards.
- The team's ownership includes the co-founders of Weston Urban, the local developer that would build the apartments and hotel. The firm has slowly been buying up property in west downtown to create what it calls a "Downtown West" neighborhood there.
Flashback: For the new apartments to proceed, the Soap Factory Apartments are being demolished. It's a rare downtown building with naturally affordable rents, and the decision to displace those renters drew ire from affordable housing advocates.
- The city and Weston Urban offered a relocation package to tenants that included $2,500 and help looking for a new apartment.
How it works: The development is set up to help pay for the stadium. Previous estimates put the ballpark cost at $160 million.
- The city plans to use increased property taxes from the new apartments and hotel to help repay bonds it will issue to pay for the stadium.
- The Missions team is contributing about $34 million.
What they're saying: "Between UTSA's campus expansion, Frost Tower, the Ballpark and our residential developments, the Creek is now an unparalleled place for all San Antonians to live, work, learn, and maybe most importantly, play," Randy Smith, co-founder and CEO of Weston Urban, said in a statement.
What's next: City commissioners will share thoughts on the designs Wednesday, but developers will still have to come back for final approval.
- The stadium is expected to open in time for the 2028 season.