San Antonio’s minor league baseball team could have a new downtown stadium as early as 2028, paid for in part by tax dollars from the City of San Antonio and Bexar County, according to a letter local leaders penned to a Major League Baseball executive last month.
The letter, shared with the San Antonio Report on Monday, indicates that local leaders are treating the stadium as an economic development generator and neighborhood revitalization tool for the area northwest of downtown.
As such, the city and county would be willing to put some of their property tax revenues toward funding its construction.
“The Ballpark is envisioned as a multi-purpose venue for a myriad of community events designed to activate the adjacent San Pedro Creek Culture Park and include accompanying public spaces and uses,” Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and Mayor Ron Nirenberg wrote to Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, Morgan Sword.
It’s unclear how much public funding would go toward the project, but the letter offers new details of where the money would come from and how the the team’s ownership plans to help pay for it.
The letter outlines plans to create what it calls the San Pedro Creek Park District, including an assessment district and a development authority.
Public development authorities are special purpose quasi-municipal corporations, often created to oversee an unusual project — and which can limit a municipality or county government’s liability for any debts or obligations assumed by the authority.
”Construction of the project shall be funded by the issuance of bonds by the [San Pedro Creek Development Authority],” the letter says. “The debt will be paid by revenue from the assessment district and the city and county property tax increment within the Houston Street Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone generated by the projected new development.”
County commissioners gave Sakai permission to draft the letter in June — a move aimed at keeping the MLB from threatening to relocate the team due to sub-par facilities.
Sakai stressed at the time that the letter would be “non-binding,” but that he was hopeful the team’s owners could come together on a public-private partnership to build the stadium.
Since then, Nirenberg has also changed his tune on public funding for the much-debated effort, as publicly funded sports stadiums have come under increasing scrutiny for their return on investment to taxpayers.
The letter suggests the new stadium would have 4,500 seats and capacity for approximately 8,000 patrons. It would host 70 home games per year, as well as college and high school tournaments and other sporting events and festivals.
Shari Biediger contributed to this report.
