Residents of NC's Triad area believe that MLB "would
improve the Triad's economy and be a positive addition," but
resistance "remains strong to using tax money" to build a
stadium, according to John Nagy of the Greensboro NEWS &
RECORD. Nagy cited a NEWS & RECORD opinion poll, conducted
by NC-based KPC Research, which found that 49% favored MLB
in the Triad, while 30% opposed it and more than 20% "remain
undecided." But Nagy added that with less than three weeks
until a "crucial baseball referendum, the public seems
largely unfamiliar of the specifics involved in the
proposal" to bring the Twins to NC. When asked if they
would support a 1% prepared foods tax to pay for a stadium,
53% said no, while 24% favor it, with over 20% undecideds.
Supporters of MLB in the area "criticized the poll for not
sampling registered voters." The poll also found that
opposition to MLB "is greater among whites than blacks," and
that without the issue of public financing, Triad residents
"believe baseball would be good for the region." The random
telephone poll of 502 interviews, between April 3 and April
9, had a margin of error of +/- 4.4% (NEWS & RECORD, 4/19).
IS PORTLAND IN THE MIX? In St. Paul, Charley Walters
wrote that "people who know say a group in Portland, Ore.,
quietly is preparing a bid with hopes of acquiring the
[Twins] and moving it to Oregon." Walters wrote that
Blazers/Seahawks Owner Paul Allen "is being sought as part
of the deal" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 4/19). In Portland,
Rob Eure wrote that the "Portland Baseball Group," led by ad
exec Al Moffatt, is "behind the latest effort" to bring MLB
to Civic Stadium. Moffatt: "I know a lot of people don't
take us seriously. But they'd be wrong to think that we are
playing around. People are going to be surprised." Eure
wrote that the "most likely" teams are the Expos, Twins and
A's (Rob Eure, Portland OREGONIAN, 4/19).
