SAN ANTONIO — The downtown area may soon have another sports arena, this time for the San Antonio Missions baseball team.
The Missions, the Double-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres, currently play at Nelson Wolff Municipal Stadium on the city's west side.
Before August 1, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai will be sending a letter to Major League Baseball (MLB) explaining their intent to finance and construct a new downtown baseball stadium.
"The ownership group is heavily invested in this development to ensure that we arrive at an agreement that is fair to our community, and we have benefited immensely from the partnership with the Missions’ new local owners," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement. "I’m thrilled that the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and the Missions are working together to advance our center city transformation efforts and spur continued development in the downtown region.”
Conversations surrounding a new baseball stadium have been ongoing for the past few years.
In 2022, then-County Judge Nelson Wolff – whom the current stadium is named for – announced that developers were exploring sites for a new minor league baseball stadium. At the time, the current ballpark, which turned 30 in April, didn't meet MLB's facility standards that were implemented when the league took over Minor League Baseball in 2021.
Sources tell KENS 5 those involved are proposing that the ballpark be built in the San Pedro Creek Culture area.
Bexar County public records show that the owners of the San Antonio Missions own property across the street from San Antonio ISD central offices, off Kingsbury and Camaron.
According to a statement sent by the City of San Antonio, the letter of intent is nonbinding, adding that "any binding agreements would have to be approved by City Council. The proposed City financing includes an equity investment from the Owners coupled with a TIRZ bond financing that would primarily be repaid through taxable new development projects near the stadium."
City Council is planning to discuss the baseball stadium and final agreement with the owners on August 14 at the B-Session meeting.