SA Missions land deal, Spurs arena first details put downtown sports stadiums in spotlight this week

SAN ANTONIO – Two sports franchises and two possible downtown San Antonio stadiums will be in the spotlight again this week during public meetings.

A land deal for a final piece of property for a new Minor League Baseball stadium will be discussed at a San Antonio ISD board meeting Monday night.

On Thursday morning, City of San Antonio staff will publicly discuss a multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment district they’ve been privately planning for a year-and-a-half, potentially including a new arena for the San Antonio Spurs.

MISSIONS

The San Antonio Missions ballpark project has already gotten the go-ahead from the City of San Antonio and Bexar County. However, a 2.3-acre parking lot on Camaron Street, at the southern edge of the proposed stadium footprint, is still owned by SAISD.

District trustees are poised to discuss some hefty, possible conditions for turning the property over, including funding for a $45 million school building, a new parking garage, and a guarantee of 1,250 units of affordable housing developed within the district’s attendance zones.

The district has also suggested alternative courses of action that could prove to be bigger curveballs for the Missions and its developer partner, Weston Urban. Putting the land up for a competitive sale could mean someone else snatches it up, and the use of eminent domain to acquire Weston Urban-owned properties in the area could eat into other parts of the ballpark footprint.

The $160 million Missions ballpark project relies largely on Weston Urban developing several nearby properties. The downtown developer’s co-founders, Randy Smith and Graham Weston, are also part of the team’s ownership group, Designated Bidders.

The new tax revenue from surrounding development, which could include 1,500 new market-rate housing units, would go toward paying off the construction costs of the stadium, as would lease payments from the team and a $2 ticket fee. The Missions ownership is also kicking in $34 million of equity and helping secure the debt with a line of credit.

The board meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the SAISD Administrative Building and includes a public comment portion.

SPURS

City staff will publicly brief San Antonio council members on the initial plans for a sports and entertainment district centered around Hemisfair, which appears to be the “Project Marvel” the city has been secretively planning.

An agenda memo for the meeting says the new district would be “anchored by an expansion of the convention center, improvements to the Alamodome, a new event venue for downtown, a convention center hotel, and potentially a new arena for the San Antonio Spurs.”

Assistant City Manager Lori Houston listed the possible price tag for Project Marvel at $3 billion to $4 billion in an email to a real estate firm. It’s not clear yet if or how much of that might be supported by public tax dollars.

The agenda memo for Thursday’s meeting also states there will be a community engagement process if the project, or certain parts of it, are deemed feasible.

The site of the former Institute of Texan Cultures building at the Southeast corner of Hemisfair, across Interstate 37 from the Alamodome, appears to be part of the city’s plans. The University of Texas System Board of Regents conditionally approved giving the city an exclusive option to buy or lease 13.6 acres from the UT System.

Though the ITC building was recently designated a State Antiquities Landmark, UTSA has said it plans to move forward with development plans for the area, which includes demolishing the building.

The special council meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Council Chambers at Municipal Plaza. There does not appear to be a public comment portion for the meeting.