Survey: Seattle voters don’t want a SoDo arena
Aug 10, 2012, 4:36 PM | Updated: 6:13 pm
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)
(AP Photo/File)
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.
