But an element was missing, and Hartman decided that the elusive matter was soccer, a sport that is thriving in Texas on the youth and professional levels and that nearly planted a flag in the Alamodome several years ago when Major League Soccer flirted with putting a franchise there. Though the deal never materialized, a hankering for the game remained in the ethnically diverse city.

The next step for Hartman was the development of the STAR (South Texas Area Regional) Soccer Complex, an array of 13 grass fields built in the former Longhorn Quarry across the street from the 11,000-seat Heroes Stadium, an American football facility used by a local public school district.

With only 25 percent of the cost of admission to the amusement park covered by fees, Hartman hit on the idea to use the profits from the soccer complex to finance the park. Two years later, more than 300,000 people, young and older, have paid to play games under the lights at the complex. The next step, which seemed obvious to Hartman, was professional soccer. This year, he became the owner of the expansion San Antonio Scorpions, the eighth team in the North American Soccer League, which plays one rung below Major League Soccer.

In their debut season, the Scorpions (8-2-4) are in first place, drawing an average of 8,000 fans a game to Heroes Stadium while Hartman’s privately financed soccer facility is being built next to Morgan’s Wonderland. The team trains at the complex. And as with the soccer complex, any profits from team operations above overhead costs go to support the amusement park.

“There had been studies done by the city that said soccer could not survive,” Hartman said. “But look at the numbers. We’re in a football facility, we don’t sell alcohol and we’re still getting double the numbers that even we projected. Because of that, I really see the power of soccer in San Antonio. There’s a desire for soccer in this region, and people love wrapping their heads around the whole Soccer for a Cause idea because the money is not going into an owner’s pocket.”