Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Poll: San Diegans don't want to subsidize stadium

Even the U-T runs a tiny, buried blurb on the countywide survey

On August 26, Solana Beach–based (W)right On Communications, a public relations firm, announced results of a poll of 375 county residents: 63 percent of county residents would oppose the City of San Diego funding construction of a new Chargers stadium.

Two-thirds of the 63 percent would oppose public funding even if that means the Chargers would move to Los Angeles.

The results were similar in the city: 59 percent oppose the subsidization of a stadium, and 59 percent of the opponents would thumb it down even if the Chargers would depart.

Hamish Marshall, director of research and analytics at (W)right On, was surprised by the results.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On August 28, SB Nation, an online blog that is all about sports and definitely in favor of sports, declared, upon reading the poll, "The chances of the Chargers getting a new stadium using public money are somewhere between slim and none." Says SB, "Very simply, San Diego doesn't have the money to undertake a project of that magnitude (both size and cost)." The City "doesn't stand a chance" of getting a two-thirds vote to raise the taxes necessary, says SB.

"San Diego residents are still smarting over what they perceive as a 'bait and switch' regarding the construction of Petco Park and the promises of a competitive Padres team," says SB, also citing the "long and often contentious history between the Chargers and City," such as the ticket guarantee and blackouts. However, SB thinks the results might be different if the Chargers plunked in $250 million, the league put in $250 million, naming rights added $150 million to $200 million and the structure were a football-only facility costing $800 million to $850 million.

Is SB kidding? — $800 million to $850 million? Santa Clara's subsidized football-only stadium for the 49ers cost $1.3 billion. If a retractable roof were added to a new San Diego stadium so it could double as a convention facility, you can add on another $150 million to $200 million.

On August 29, the Union-Tribune had a two-paragraph item on the (W)right On poll buried in a political column. A former U-T copy editor commented, "Had this appeared on the front page of Sports, with serious headline treatment, heads would have rolled. Ask Tim Sullivan."

(Tim Sullivan was an excellent U-T sports columnist who took a balanced approach to stadium subsidies, although he didn't oppose them. When John Lynch took over as chief executive of the U-T, he announced that any sportswriter had to lead cheers for a new Chargers stadium. Sullivan was fired.)

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount

On August 26, Solana Beach–based (W)right On Communications, a public relations firm, announced results of a poll of 375 county residents: 63 percent of county residents would oppose the City of San Diego funding construction of a new Chargers stadium.

Two-thirds of the 63 percent would oppose public funding even if that means the Chargers would move to Los Angeles.

The results were similar in the city: 59 percent oppose the subsidization of a stadium, and 59 percent of the opponents would thumb it down even if the Chargers would depart.

Hamish Marshall, director of research and analytics at (W)right On, was surprised by the results.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On August 28, SB Nation, an online blog that is all about sports and definitely in favor of sports, declared, upon reading the poll, "The chances of the Chargers getting a new stadium using public money are somewhere between slim and none." Says SB, "Very simply, San Diego doesn't have the money to undertake a project of that magnitude (both size and cost)." The City "doesn't stand a chance" of getting a two-thirds vote to raise the taxes necessary, says SB.

"San Diego residents are still smarting over what they perceive as a 'bait and switch' regarding the construction of Petco Park and the promises of a competitive Padres team," says SB, also citing the "long and often contentious history between the Chargers and City," such as the ticket guarantee and blackouts. However, SB thinks the results might be different if the Chargers plunked in $250 million, the league put in $250 million, naming rights added $150 million to $200 million and the structure were a football-only facility costing $800 million to $850 million.

Is SB kidding? — $800 million to $850 million? Santa Clara's subsidized football-only stadium for the 49ers cost $1.3 billion. If a retractable roof were added to a new San Diego stadium so it could double as a convention facility, you can add on another $150 million to $200 million.

On August 29, the Union-Tribune had a two-paragraph item on the (W)right On poll buried in a political column. A former U-T copy editor commented, "Had this appeared on the front page of Sports, with serious headline treatment, heads would have rolled. Ask Tim Sullivan."

(Tim Sullivan was an excellent U-T sports columnist who took a balanced approach to stadium subsidies, although he didn't oppose them. When John Lynch took over as chief executive of the U-T, he announced that any sportswriter had to lead cheers for a new Chargers stadium. Sullivan was fired.)

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader