The decisions made during negotiations between Bexar County Commissioners and Missions baseball owners have been mostly behind closed doors — until now.
On Tuesday during Commissioner’s Court, the officials agreed to a kind of trade with Designated Bidders, revealing something of how that deal will be structured.
The agreement approved by commissioners gives the county two parcels of land for a park near the San Pedro Creek Cultural Park in exchange for restructuring the financing agreement it made with the team’s ownership group in 2024 to build a new downtown ballpark.
At the same time, county officials agreed to release the its portion of the tax increment guarantee from the Houston Street Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which is estimated to make up 14% of the total ballpark project cost.
The $160 million baseball stadium is planned for land at North Flores, Camaron and Kingsbury streets, south of San Antonio Independent School District headquarters and adjacent to the San Pedro Creek Culture Park.
The new ballpark is expected to open in 2028, replacing the Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium built on the Southwest Side of San Antonio in 1994 and considered inadequate by today’s Major League Baseball standards.
The Designated Bidders partnership, which has committed $34 million to build the stadium, includes Weston Urban co-founder Graham Weston, its CEO Randy Smith and former Clear Channel Communications executive Bob Cohen, among others.
Weston Urban is planning to build hotels and apartments in the area with a projected taxable value of approximately $1 billion.
Commissioners signed a memorandum of understanding in October 2024 with Designated Bidders, Weston Urban and San Antonio ISD, agreeing to negotiate a financing agreement for construction and operation of the stadium.
Those talks have led to commissioners seeking an agreement that could either bring more affordable housing options within the development area or increase the tax assessment from 10% to 15% on properties developed there.
A third option they considered, and both parties agreed to, requires Weston Urban to pay the 4% annual interest on a $10 million loan advanced by the county, which also receives two parcels of land for a park adjacent to the new Missions stadium.
Daniel Ortiz, an attorney representing the team, said the county would be paid back 100% of the principal on a loan, along with interest — money that is returned to the general fund.
“It’s a smart, smart business deal, if you will,” he said. “And I will add … the team took out about $7 million of expenses and put them on their sign side of the ledger … so increasing their commitments, and then in addition, they’re also adding yet another $5 million on top of that for a park that would complement the stadium itself.”
County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez (Pct. 2) praised the agreement. “Due to a little bit of a shortfall, the county is essentially loaning some money, but we’re also getting a public park space in exchange,” he said.
Commissioners gave credit to Weston Urban for the affordable housing it’s already developed in the northwest quadrant of downtown, namely the recently opened Continental Residences. The multi-family residential tower is the first housing project approved under the newly formed Bexar County Public Facility Corporation, or PFC.
A PFC allows developers to partner with a public entity to build multi-family “workforce” housing. Developers receive full property tax exemption for the duration of the 75-year lease in exchange for committing to rent half the units to people who make up to 80% of the area median income, or AMI, which for a family of four is $77,300.
Commissioners made no mention Tuesday of the below-market-rate Soap Factory apartments that the developer plans to demolish to make way for new housing and hotels surrounding the stadium. Weston Urban has begun razing the complex and instituted a relocation plan for residents.
“Working with the court and staff on the Continental to provide mixed-income affordable housing in the core of downtown … is the project that we’re most proud of,” said Randy Smith, CEO of Weston Urban.
“Within the footprint of the ballpark, the finance mechanism does not allow for that [kind of affordable component], but we have ample opportunity around that to continue working with the county to help deliver more of that,” Smith said.
Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores (Pct. 1) thanked the team owners “for being willing to negotiate back and forth so that we can have even more benefit for our constituents.”
County Judge Peter Sakai said the county has engaged in “some hard negotiations” over the project.
“But I think we have an agreement, at least from the county perspective, that engages issues of housing and economic development and the ability to revitalize the downtown, and it’s been my pleasure to lead this with the baseball ownership, along with the City of San Antonio,” he said.
