MLB has set a deadline of Oct. 15 for a “binding, detailed commitment” to plan for a new minor-league baseball stadium.
SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio has stepped into the batter’s box of its plan to construct a modern stadium for the Missions minor league baseball team downtown. The City Council Thursday voted to approve a new agreement for a downtown Missions baseball stadium.
After City Council requested a delay to fine tune their plan, the governing body voted to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the county and a local developer to continue plans for an approximately $160 million ballpark. The vote passed with a count of 9 to 2 in a packed council chambers after dozens of speakers voiced thoughts on both sides of the issue. District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee Rodriguez and District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo voted against the proposal.
The MOU, the city hopes, would fulfill Major League Baseball’s request for a “more binding detailed commitment” that the league asked to have by Oct. 15, following local leaders submission of a letter of intent this summer.
The agreement includes a more detailed plan to relocate residents of the Soap Factory Apartments complex, which would be demolished to make way for the new ballpark and surrounding development. That possibility led to backlash from tenants and concern from City Council members at a special meeting last month. Again, Thursday, several Soap Factory residents and tenant advocates spoke out against the plan, saying residents were not getting a fair deal.
In a presentation on the deal, city staff said the displaced residents will receive a “rental relocation package” funded by both the city and developer Weston Urban. The plan calls for each resident to receive a $2,500 relocation stipend, with no income restrictions and and applying to current residents only. Many residents and advocates recognized that city leaders badly want the new stadium, but implored them to slow down and reconsider the residents’ needs.
“We are not just units in a complex, we live and work here. Displacement will have severe negative impacts on our employment, transportation, education, safety and all other aspects of our lives for generations to come,” Phillip Adcock, a Soap Factory resident, said.
Adcock called for a delay in the vote and a freeze of all rent and fees for residents.
Conversely, the proposal was supported by many members of the community who spoke at Thursday’s meeting, including business owners, baseball fans, other downtown neighborhood residents and students.
Keith Smith, a season ticket-holder since the Missions stadium opened in 1994, says this is a welcome change to re-invigorate the baseball community.
“This stadium is needed by the city. Baseball is a part of San Antonio and a new stadium will lead to wonderful things,” Smith said.
The initial proposed agreement, presented to City Council on Aug. 29, divided the demolition up into three phases while giving tenants the option to move into a different development still being built. The updated agreement Thursday offers a more detailed plan to help Soap Factory tenants, including a bilingual outreach and engagement effort; financial help for tenants moving elsewhere on the complex before demolition; and the promise that tenants will be able to end their lease early with no penalties.
The updated agreement also adds a provision saying the Missions won’t conduct background checks on prospective hires “until after an interview and an offer is made.”
The baseball field at nearby Fox Tech High School must still be acquired in order to move forward with the project, leaders say, adding negotiations with San Antonio ISD are still ongoing.
City officials say they expect the still-unnamed ballpark to be built by Opening Day 2028; the start of the season typically comes in April. The ballpark would have 4,500 seats with a maximum capacity of 7,500, and it would be paid for by the Missions and bonds issued by the newly created San Pedro Creek Authorities, which would own the park.
Leaders are hoping the ballpark at the intersection of Camaron and Kingsbury streets would help rejuvenate downtown, saying it would bring with it new development from the restaurant and hospitality industries with a taxable value of around $1 billion. That work would be constructed in several phases through the start of the next decade.
The Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, have called Wolff Stadium on the west side home for 30 years. But MLB has determined that venue isn’t compliant for continued play.