arena.jpg
Bach says there have been concerns that hardcore Sonics have fans have over-representing support for the arena proposal at many public hearings. (AP Photo/File)

Survey: Seattle voters don't want a SoDo arena

BY MyNorthwest.com  on August 10, 2012 @ 4:36 pm (Updated: 6:13 pm - 8/10/12 )

The results of a two-question phone survey say more than half of Seattle voters don't like the plan for the new arena.

The group Pacific Public Affairs says they polled 300 people this week, and first asked if they were opposed to using public bonds to finance part of the arena.

Second, they asked if they were concerned about the SoDo location.

"We really wanted to take a look at the whole of Seattle voters not just the people that have been coming out to some of the public meetings," explained PPA spokesperson Ashley Bach. "I think the polls show that there is clearly a majority of people in Seattle that do have some real concerns (about) the arena and SoDo."

Representatives of arena investor Chris Hansen say that the results of the survey are distorted.

"The poll released today (Friday) by arena opponents seems to be more about influencing public opinion than about asking voters what they think," replied Hansen's group via email. "The questions do not come close to accurately describing our arena proposal and leave out some very basic, but critical facts."

Bach says there have been concerns that hardcore Sonics have fans have over-representing support for the arena proposal at many public hearings. They're trying to get the results of their survey in front of the Seattle City Council as they continue to review and adjust the arena plan.

"We really do want to get this in front of the council and really want them to know what their whole constituency feels about this issue, not just some of those hardcore fans that have come out in the last few months."

So far, the King County Council has approved Chris Hansen's arena proposal. Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council has said they would like to see some changes made to the MOU (memorandum of understanding) proposed by Hansen, before they are ready to continue with the plan.

As it stands, the project calls for about $290 million in private investment from Hansen's group, along with $200 million from the city and county through 30-year bonds.

All construction costs, including overruns, would be paid for by Hansen's group, along with all environmental studies and permitting.

The public investment is capped at $200 million and would come from taxes and revenues generated through the new facility.

MyNorthwest.com, Staff report
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Comments (25)


  • Add A Comment

  • soo purletiv wrote...
    A few questions:
    August 10, 2012 5:52 pm
    Why aren't the results published here?

    Who were questioned?

    What side of the issue does Pacific Public Affairs stand on? No really, what side?

    Does 300 really give an accurate sampling of the entire city?

    What is the actual word for word text of the questions being asked?

    Most importantly: Why have I never been a participant in ANY phone survey EVER?

    I question whether these surveys even take place.

    As they say: Question the questioners.

    At least I think they say that......

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    100
    August 10, 2012 10:30 pm
    100 seems to work well for the Family Feud. Anyone who questions whether this survey is a true reflection of how the mood of the city is right now simply lives in a small world. They should get out more often.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lysander wrote...
    Answers
    August 10, 2012 11:01 pm
    1. cause mynw.com is not the best news source. 2. Probably opposed, but the questions are pretty non biased. 3. yes 300 is enough, ask statistics professor if you really doubt it. 4. I think it was stated word for word in the article. 5. Do you answer your phone when you do not know who is calling? Have you ever had a land line?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • soo purletiv wrote...
    Still waiting
    August 10, 2012 11:19 pm
    For a legitimate response to my questions......
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    Here's a couple, SP
    August 10, 2012 11:41 pm
    They asked...

    “The proposal to build a new sports arena in the SoDo area will be partially funded by selling $200 million in city and county bonds to finance construction of the arena. These public bonds would be paid off by using taxes related to arena usage.

    “Knowing this, do you strongly favor, somewhat favor, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose using city and county top flight Portland posed the following question asked the following question:bonds to help fund the proposed SoDo arena?”

    As for why you have never been polled, I would guess it is because you often don't pick up your phone. Do you have an unlisted number?

    I have been polled several times and consider answering my phone a courtesy to my fellow man. Besides, I had a short stint polling people and like to help my fellow pollsters.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Soooooooo - The answer is simply this -
    August 11, 2012 5:44 am
    300 is more than enough if it gives the answer you were looking for in the first place.

    If the survey had FAVORED the arena, all the comments here would be the other way around.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Why have I never been a participant in ANY phone survey EVER? . . . .
    August 10, 2012 7:22 pm
    look in the mirror Clown.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Basso wrote...
    No doubt soo
    August 10, 2012 7:36 pm
    How do you extrapolate half the city with only 300 respondents. Nice reporting.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lysander wrote...
    statistics
    August 10, 2012 11:01 pm
    that is how.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • nateyb24 wrote...
    Lol
    August 10, 2012 8:16 pm
    Did you guys see the bogus anti arena flyers? The Mariners are on it Chuck and Howard should sell the team they run the Mariners horribly bunch of Hippocrates considering they took a bunch of our $ to build Safeco. They are scared of a guy who wants to cater to the fans that will make them lose money because they suck at running a team.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    The M's
    August 10, 2012 10:28 pm
    They are against a bad idea. Just because they are terrible at running their team does not mean they are ignorant when it comes to legal agreements, bond concerns, and traffic.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tlmbrt wrote...
    The Mariners
    August 11, 2012 10:21 am
    are only against it because it would be COMPETITION for those sports dollars. Period.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Keepin it Real wrote...
    Hanson...........
    August 10, 2012 8:33 pm
    When will Hanson tell the "Peoples Republic of Seattle" to "Stick It"?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Derrol_o wrote...
    Is Seattle a hoops town anymore?
    August 10, 2012 9:09 pm
    There might just be too many debbie downer anti-sports libs here. It's definitely not the same city that was backing the Sonics in the Sonic Boom days of the late '70s. That version of Seattle would've ostracized the people responsible for letting the Sonics slip away in '08. And no matter how good Hanson's deal gets, he's always gonna be a "slick oil salesman" who's out to con the taxpayers out of every last dime he can get. Any facts to the contrary will go in one ear and right out the other.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    Hanson
    August 10, 2012 10:25 pm
    He is losing ground with the folks around here. His refusal to negotiate in good faith while he acquires land like it is a done deal has poisoned the process.

    Nickels will go down in history as one of the weakest Mayors in modern American history. He rivals Marion Berry and Dinkens. When he took that deal, he wrote his legacy in stone.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Daddy Dennis wrote...
    R.I.P. Richard Dawson
    August 10, 2012 10:15 pm
    "Survey says!"

    I've been saying it from the start: The people behind this idea are applying California thinking to a Seattle issue. Trying to build a box-o-entertainment in an industrial district and then refusing to budge from the location is insane. To fill the MOU with tons of promises "IF" an NBA team moves here is just an attempt to blow smoke. It is a bunch of words that mean NOTHING. They are all contingent on the NBA moving a team here and then agreeing to this sweetheart deal.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lysander wrote...
    Hansen
    August 10, 2012 11:05 pm
    Why does Hansen care what the public or city thinks? If he really wants to own a team and build a stadium, do it with your own money. The real answer is he wants the city on the hook for his investment. Anything saying otherwise is just pretending that he is different from all the other megacorporations that try to cozy up to big government. I would have thought this city learned its lesson with the sonics earlier but judging by the surprise this article is generating, just shy of 50% of us are still in denial about the sham that is big sports and big government.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Thank you Hanson for putting our elected officials on record for wasting taxpayer money on the arena . . . .
    August 11, 2012 3:01 am
    lets see how it shakes out in November.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Beetle1977 wrote...
    I'd like to see
    August 11, 2012 6:16 am
    This same poll done on the Eastside. It’s inevitable that this arena is going to get built somewhere in King County. If Seattle doesn’t want it, take it to the Eastside. Bellevue would love the additional jobs and tax revenue that this will generate.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    "There's been some concern that rabid Sonics fans have been packing the public hearings"
    August 11, 2012 6:34 am
    Ya think?

    I just thought the room always filled up with people wearing green and yellow athletic apparel.

    The city should make it easy for Hanson and his group to build an arena...with the group's own money and/or private financing. No public investment.

    There's half the problem. The logic the arena promoters are pitching is really weak. "The citizens of Seattle should borrow $200-million and give it to us so we risk less of our own money doing business with the NBA. We'll sell a lot of tickets and generate a lot of other taxes, and over time those taxes will pay back the $200 million."

    The problem is, no matter how the arena gets built, (if it gets built in Seattle), those same taxes would be due. The would be due with or without $200-million in public money being handed out up front.

    The taxes generated by a facility like a basketball area aren't some sort of profit center for the city. It will cost the City $millions per year to provide police for stepped up patrols on game nights, control traffic in the area, provide and upgrade infrastructure, etc. That's what the taxes are supposed to cover.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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