SAISD strikes out on demands in land deal for new San Antonio Missions ballpark

San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) swung for the fences when local developer Weston Urban and the minor league San Antonio Missions baseball team approached the district last year about buying a 2.3-acre parcel of land needed to build a new downtown ballpark.

Initially, in exchange for the parcel, SAISD asked for a new parking garage, $45 million to build a new Advanced Learning Academy and a $400,000 annual stipend. Officials also sought 1,250 units of affordable housing in the district to offset declining enrollment and offset displacement from the low-income Soap Factory apartments, which are being torn down to make way for the ballpark development.

However, it appears SAISD largely struck out with its demands. In the end, the only concession the district won was an abundance of free parking, according to the Express-News.

In exchange for a 2.3-acre parcel of land along Cameron Street, SAISD will receive free parking at a yet-to-be-built garage, waived rent at an existing Bexar County-owned parking garage on Quincy Street and a single seat on the San Antonio Housing Trust board, the daily reports.

Needless to say, the deal finalized with Weston Urban on Tuesday is a far cry from the initial demands SAISD’s board of trustees demanded last fall.

Weston Urban lobbied City Council to rush through an approval process that included public financing and displacing low-income apartment dwellers to make way for a 4,500-seat minor league ballpark downtown, replacing the aging Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium.

Despite Weston Urban’s careful planning and hobnobbing, they overlooked a significant piece of its grand scheme: actually acquiring the land to build the ballpark.

SAISD was determined to leverage what it could from the land it held.

The parcel, which SAISD used as a parking lot for Fox Tech High School, will be transferred to the county, which will then sell it to Weston Urban. The $160 million ballpark is scheduled to open in April 2028. Weston Urban is slated to invest $34 million, or cover approximately 27% of the stadium’s total cost, the daily reports.

Developers and city officials hope the rest of the money will come from the Houston Street Tax Increment Zone (TIRZ).

Hypothetically, TIRZs are special districts that allow municipalities — in this case the county — to issue bonds. The county will issue bonds to finance the stadium, and the tax revenue generated by the redevelopment of the area surrounding the stadium will be used to repay the notes.

However, economists such Smith College professor Andrew Zimbalist, who specializes in studying public financing for sports stadiums, remain skeptical.

Indeed, Zimbalist warned in earlier conversations with the Current that instead of creating new tax revenue, TIRZs more often siphon funds from public coffers that would otherwise go to funding police, public education and roads.

“It’s a phony financing mechanism that makes it look like new money is falling from heaven and it’s not going to hurt anything, but that’s a very improbable outcome,” Zimbalist said. “It’s not really new tax revenue — you’re just redistributing existing revenue.”

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This article appears in Jul 10-23, 2025.