SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Missions are expected to have a new ballpark built in downtown San Antonio by April 2028, according to a letter from Bexar County and the City of San Antonio to Major League Baseball.
Businesses surrounding the Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium are worried they will lose customers who visit on gamedays.
KSAT spoke with people around Wolff Stadium to get their opinion on the stadium moving to downtown.
If the games move downtown, some San Antonio residents said it will feel like a loss of tradition. Others said it would be a great addition to the city’s center.
Northeast Side resident Christian Barajas is happy to see a potential new downtown ballpark.
“I think the Missions moving down here would be a great experience for everyone that lives in San Antonio,” Barajas said.
Bartender Raymond Arizola also believes the transition will be good for the city as long as the stadium doesn’t affect the Soap Factory Apartments.
“I think it’ll just bring more, a lot more business to downtown because there’s so many places opening up that are struggling for more business,” Arizola said. “But I just don’t think it should go by the Soap Factory (Apartments). The Soap Factory (Apartments) is historic, and it’s one of the last places that downtown people in the service industry have to live.”
However, others believe that future parking in downtown will cause the future stadium to lose business.
“I feel that less of the community would be going downtown because there’s always paid parking, and it’s pretty expensive,” San Antonio resident Elsa Martinez said.
Restaurant owner Alfredo Casas said when there is a game, he allows people to park at his business for free.
Casas said his business thrives because of Wolff Stadium.
“People can park here every game. I mean, we’re more than welcome to help that community. I think if they moved, that’s going to be a huge mistake for this part of that town, (for) this community,” Casas said.
San Antonio resident Katherine Torres said she would attend a future downtown event, but she second-guesses herself about whether it’s worth the headache from traffic.
“We’re looking at a long stretch of construction for quite a long time,” Torres said. “Certain areas are probably going to have to be closed because it’s just going to be nothing but consuming with traffic.”
Torres said she hopes the city reconsiders, but she would be OK with the community using Wolff Stadium for local high school baseball games.
“I’ll probably have to prepare to spend time in traffic, finding parking, dealing with the construction,” Torres said. “It makes me wonder, ‘Is that even worth going downtown for?’”
According to the letter, the Missions will contribute their revenue toward the remaining debt through lease payments, ticket fees and other forms of equity.
The stadium will be used for other tournaments, festivals and special events in addition to 70 home Missions baseball games.
The Missions will design and build the stadium. Records show the team plans to work with Bexar County to build a parking garage.
Bexar County commissioners and San Antonio councilmembers still need to take several steps to advance the project’s development, including expanding Houston Street and providing annual payments to fund improvements.