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Poll reflects strong feelings about Rays stadium plan

Posted: Jun 02, 2008 09:47 AM

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In conjunction with Bay News 9, The St. Petersburg Times conducted 601 phone interviews May 27-28, 2008, using Communications Center Inc. The maximum sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points. Survey participants are registered voters who live in the city of St. Petersburg.

1. How would you rate the job performance of Mayor Rick Baker?

17% Excellent

40% Good

27% Only fair

5% Poor

11% Don't know

2. How would you rate the job performance of the St. Petersburg City Council?

3% Excellent

42% Good

35% Only fair

8% Poor

12% Don't know

3. How much have you heard about the Rays proposing a new baseball stadium in downtown St. Pete?

78% A lot

19% Some

2% First heard about it

1% Not sure

4. Should the City Council agree to hold a referendum in November that will allow voters to have some say in the approval of the Rays' $450-million waterfront stadium proposal, or should the City Council stop the stadium discussion now?

60% Hold referendum

36% Stop the process

4% Not sure

5. Do you favor or oppose the Rays constructing a new stadium on city-owned land at Al Lang Field on the downtown waterfront?

11% Strongly favor

8% Somewhat favor

11% Somewhat oppose

57% Strongly oppose

13% Undecided

6. Which one or two of these is your biggest concern about the stadium proposal?

56% The cost to tax payers

35% Building a new stadium without paying off the old stadium

20% Parking availability

13% Environmental concerns

11% Waterfront location

13% Ballpark design with outdoor seating

5% Or something else

2% No concerns

2% Don't know

7. Which one or two of these do you like the most about the stadium proposal?

9% Ballpark design

20% Waterfront location

22% Economic impact of redeveloping Tropicana Field

8% Team success

6% An outdoor ballpark

8% Or something else?

36% Like nothing about proposal

3% Don't know

8. The city of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County are spending about $11-million a year for the construction of Tropicana Field. The city's contribution is coming from its portion of state sales taxes. The county's portion is coming from a 1 percent tax on hotel stays in Pinellas County. Would you be willing to extend those payments to build a new stadium if it did not result in increased taxes for you?

37% Yes

59% No

4% Don't know

9. Do you believe there is adequate parking downtown to support a new waterfront stadium?

9% Yes

82% No

9% Don't know

10. How would you rate Mayor Baker's administration in how it has handled the stadium proposal: excellent, good, only fair or poor?

4% Excellent

22% Good

32% Only fair

28% Poor

14% Don't know

11. How many Tampa Bay Rays baseball games did you attend last season in 2007, if any?

47% None

30% 1-5

23% 6 or more

12. The city expects that it may have to cut up to $10 million in spending as a result of the tax reforms approved by voters last November. Which one or two of the following programs should the city consider cutting first:

15% Parks

14% Recreation programs

5% Libraries

27% Code enforcement

21% Arts and social service programs

32% Don't know

13. To make sure we're talking with a cross-section of residents, would you please tell which of these age ranges you fall into:

20% 18-34

38% 35-54

42% 55 or older

14. Which of these best describes your racial or ethnic origin:

6% Black or African-American

85% White

1% Hispanic

6% Or other

2% Refused

15. Gender

47% Male

53% Female