Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Build it? Yes. Pay for it? No.

Voters support plans for a new Rays stadium - as long as tax dollars aren't involved.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN and MARC TOPKIN
Published November 22, 2007

The telephone survey of 616 city voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday and has a 4 percent margin of error.
	[Skip O'Rourke | Times]

ST. PETERSBURG - City voters are open to the idea of a new downtown waterfront baseball stadium - so long as taxpayers aren't footing the bill, according to a new St. Petersburg Times poll.

Fifty-seven percent of voters surveyed said they would favor plans to build a stadium if no city tax dollars were used. But if St. Petersburg tax dollars were part of the equation, 69 percent said they would oppose the plan.

The telephone survey of 616 city voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday and has a 4 percent margin of error.

"We're confident that the public support will be there after we announce the details of the project and begin discussing all the benefits it will bring to the community," said Michael Kalt, Rays senior vice president of development and business affairs, after seeing a copy of the survey results Wednesday.

The team will unveil its plans next Wednesday.

The Rays' most difficult task may be convincing city voters that the commitment of public resources, such as city-owned Al Lang Field, is not the same as tax dollars.

Respondents were split on whether they believe the money from the sale of Tropicana Field should be used to build a stadium.

They were, however, more likely to favor the Rays' plan if Tropicana was converted into a large mixed-use development that paid local property and state sales taxes.

The results varied depending on the specific question asked.

For instance, only 26 percent favored building a new stadium on Al Lang Field, but 41 percent favored the plan if money from the sale of Tropicana Field was used to make it happen.

And people who attended more than six Rays games last year largely supported a new stadium, even if city tax dollars were part of the equation.

"Baseball should be played outdoors," said Lori Westlund, a 42-year-old city resident who said she attended at least 15 games last year. "And our city's so beautiful, why not showcase it?"

Those who didn't attend a game in 2007 generally needed more convincing.

"I'm getting awful tired of what's going on in all major league sports - the owners of the teams holding cities hostage," said Michael Sagese, 63. "Right now, I can see this whole thing as a ploy. If they don't get this, they're going to move to Tampa."

Nearly 60 percent said they would not consider the team's last-place record a factor when deciding whether to support a new stadium. Only 10 percent rated the Rays ownership as poor.

Team executives have declined to discuss their plans to build a stadium at Al Lang since the Times' Web site, www.tampabay.com, broke the story of their intentions Nov. 9.

The team wants the city to hold a referendum on the stadium plan in November. Voters would have to approve any plan that involves a long-term lease or transfer of the Al Lang site.

Under their plan, the Rays would pay up to a third of the cost to build a 35,000-seat open-air stadium. The team could use money from the sale of Tropicana Field and property taxes generated by the redevelopment of the site to offset additional construction costs. It also likely will seek a $60-million sales tax subsidy from the state.

The Rays said Wednesday that Gov. Charlie Crist, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and Major League Baseball president Bob DuPuy will all attend an official announcement Wednesday.

The Rays say they intend to share "details and renderings of a new waterfront ballpark and redevelopment of Tropicana Field."

City Council member Bill Foster said the results of the poll were interesting.

"It all depends on how you ask the question," he said. "The numbers were bad if it involved city tax dollars, but they changed if we could sell the Trop and add things to the tax roll."

"It makes the Rays' pitch starting next week all the more important," said City Council Chairman Jamie Bennett.

"If the product is a good sell, if this isn't going to be a hardship on the community, I think they'll be for it," Bennett said.

Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or 727 892-2273

About the poll

The St. Petersburg Times interviewed 616 registered St. Petersburg voters. The margin of error is 4 percent.

* 53 percent of respondents were women; 47 percent were men.

* 41 percent were 55 or older; 38 percent were 35-54; 21 percent were 18-34.

* 76 percent of respondents were white.

[Last modified November 21, 2007, 23:40:52]