With the San Antonio Missions baseball team set to vacate aging Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium in three years, District 6 Councilman Ric Galvan is eyeing the city’s upcoming bond cycle to help lay the groundwork for redevelopment of the site.
The minor league team will relocate into a $160 million stadium downtown in 2029, a year behind schedule, so Galvan, whose district includes Wolff Stadium, is holding two town halls to get input on what residents want to do with the land. .
Although ideas thrown around by West Siders at Thursday’s town hall at the Ron Darner Parks and Recreation Headquarters ranged from grocery stores and hospitals to walling trails and museums, one questions posed by residents was how Galvan planned to pay for it.
“By having these conversations at this point, we’ll be ready for the bond process later this year,” Galvan said.
However, that could be tricky.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones last week told the Current that a $220 million-plus infrastructure bond for infrastructure improvements at Hemisfair — costs associated with the broader Project Marvel sports and entertainment complex — will likely be put to voters in the near future as well.
“That infrastructure bond will go to voters,” Jones said. “If you recall, there’s always been a desire for some to say, ‘Hey, I’d like to vote on the downtown infrastructure all by itself.’ It doesn’t look like that is possible; that’s just kind of my sense.”
Indeed, District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia has called for a separate bond vote solely for Project Marvel-related infrastructure. However, bond elections usually include multiple projects rolled into a single package.
San Antonio’s bond capacity has been significantly reduced from $1.2 billion in 2002 to only around $600 million next year. That decline is mostly due to stagnant property tax valuations.
City spokesperson Brian Chasnoff said via email that city staff will provide a bond update, with a list of potential projects and propositions, in September.
The ideas shared Thursday won’t be the final word on Wolff Stadium’s future, though.
The city will host a second public meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20, to narrow the redevelopment proposals before developing a master plan for the site.
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