SAN ANTONIO – The long-awaited new ballpark for the San Antonio Missions along San Pedro Creek is now expected to open a year later than planned, pushing the first pitch back from the 2028 season to at least 2029.
The project has been in the works for multiple years after Major League Baseball told the city it would lose the Missions if stadium conditions were not improved or if the city did not make an attempt to build a new stadium that meets MLB standards of operation.
Weston Urban, the development team in charge of the stadium, told the San Antonio Business Journal that “electrical infrastructure and labor challenges” are the reasons for the delay, shifting the completion timeline from 2028 to 2029.
Despite the setback, city leaders said they are not concerned.
“Projects of this size, magnitude, scope, sometimes will face a delay due to financial markets, labor markets being tight. We’re seeing it all over the country, so it did not come as a surprise to me at all,” a city leader said.
Trish DeBerry of Centro San Antonio said she remains confident the project will align with the completion timeline that other downtown projects will be aiming for.
In a memo to the city, Eric Walsh said MLB supports the delay, despite the league’s previous pressure on the city.
In the same San Antonio Business Journal article, Weston Urban CEO Randy Smith said the goal is to build the “best ballpark, not the fastest ballpark,” and the development team fully expects packed seats by the first pitch of the 2029 season.
“It’s going to be one of the best ballparks in North America,” Smith said.