A poll conducted over the weekend on the S.F. Giants'
proposal to build a privately financed ballpark in the city's
China Basin area showed that while the referendum would pass by a
2-to-1 if a vote were held today, "voters still have doubts about
whether parking and traffic problems near the ballpark would be
manageable." While the yes vote on the stadium led 54-26% among
the 600 registered voters surveyed by the S.F. CHRONICLE and
KRON-TV from February 10-13, only 35% believed the Giants'
promise that money for the $255M project would not come out of
taxpayers pockets. On that question, 51% did not believe the
team. Meanwhile, 47% had concerns about traffic and its effect
on property values (Edward Epstein, S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/16).
Meanwhile, the Rincon Point-South Beach Citizens Advisory
Committee, a potential opponent of the project, gave a "neutral"
vote on the matter -- considered "very positive" by Giants Exec
VP Larry Baer (Eric Brazil, S.F. EXAMINER, 2/15).
TRAFFIC REPORT: The CHRONICLE obtained a draft of a report
being prepared by the S.F. County Transportation Authority, which
offers suggestions to alleviate the anticipated "major
congestion" around the ballpark area. The study focuses
predominantly on increased funding for public transportation and
the construction of additional parking structures (Edward
Epstein, S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/16).
3COM STAYS: 3Com Corp's bid to keep its name on the former
Candlestick Park "gained ground" as a revised agreement between
the city and the 49ers was approved by the city's Recreation and
Park Commission. Under the deal, the 49ers will pay $3.9M over
four years to the city for the right to designate the stadium
"3Com Park at Candlestick Point." 3Com, in turn, will pay the
team $3.5M for naming rights (Hal Kahn, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS,
2/16).
