Voters: Don't ask us to pay for new stadium

ST. PETERSBURG – City voters are open to the idea of a new downtown waterfront baseball stadium – depending on who’s paying for it, according to a new St. Petersburg Times poll.

Fifty-seven percent of city voters surveyed said they would favor plans to build a new ballpark if no city tax dollars were used. If city tax dollars were part of the equation, 69 percent said they would oppose the plan. In voters' minds, the financing of the $450-million Tampa Bay Rays stadium is the biggest road block. Not parking. Not the heat.

The telephone survey of 616 city voters was conducted Monday and Tuesday and includes a four percent margin of error. (Story here.)

Comments

If the Devil Rays want a new stadium, their owners should pay for it - pure and simple. If they don't want to pay for it, then it obviously makes no sense.

And it won't bring new business to the city, because all the attendees already spend money in the city.

NO TAX MONIES.

I'll give you 10-to-1 that the "Margin of Error" is really 18-23%.

And by the way, if no tax dollars are used to build it… the voters opinion is not relevant.

Oh, and you forgot to tell them how much is still owed on the Trop when you asked if the voters would want to give it to developers.

[Gene Smith]

616 voters? Isn't that about the entire number who showed up to vote in the recent election. That would make the margin of error zero.

Gene, I’m surprised at your intuition… me thinks you just might be figuring it out.

Wow, someone used "Gene Smith," "intuition" and "figuring it out" in the same sentence. One of the dimmest bulbs among the Kossacks just got his wattage increased.

... easy there tiger... it's only a slight increase.

In honor of Thanksgiving, here's a photo of former Senator Bob Graham with a big turkey:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/433/4046/1600/GS_BG%201.2.jpg

[Gene Smith]

Hey - thanks for posting one of my favorite pictures. I'm looking at the autographed original right now.

[Zhombre]

Sell it on ebay, Gene, and donate the money to charity.

let the owners and players pay for it - none of MY money to go towards it - spend MY money on giving teachers a raise and helping the homeless and hungry

Where is the phoney Fasano on this issue?

I think it's pretty obvious that the state could use the bucks for a more worthwhile cause. Do you suppose it's a case of making the request doubly ridiculous just to guarantee that the Marlins don't walk away with all the funds?

[Tim]

The voters in St. Petersburg will not vote infavor of the Rays. They should move out of St. Petersburg they are an embarrassment. The Times lost in the last election because people are wise too there yellow journalism. There were less people voting in the last election because people have left St. Petersburg and Florida. Remember schools are closing in Pinellas County. Go too www.tampabaytwilight.9f.com and read the truth the Times does not print.

Fasano is too busy with his ethics complaints to care about this.

[John]

More welfare for the corporations. I'm sure the Times will try to sell the idea to the people. That's what the media is for, sell the lie, keep the truth hidden.

Tim that website sucks - everything on it I've already either read or heard on the local news.

To number 17 if you don't like the Tampabay twilight you must really hate the times because you sure did not get the tampabaytwilight information on the times web site.

The St. Petersburg Times must be desperate since they are throwing free papers on Thanksgiving. Circulation must be down. St. Petersburg Times still upset you lost the last election? For the real news go too www.tampabaytwilight.9f.com

[Ferg]

Interesting read Adam but The Times did a biased presentation of the Smith property exchange but not word one about the truth of the matter. Can you say, "agenda?"

the owners must be a bunch of dumbasses - usually you go to a city threatening to leave without a stadium deal when you've got a WINNING team - no one will ever miss the Rays if they threaten to leave - good riddance!

stadiums are good for economic development only if people go TO the games - who the heck goes to Rays games?