On Tuesday, voters in a six-county region around
Denver will determine whether to extend the Coors Field
sales tax of .1% to help fund a new stadium for the Broncos.
Since Coors Field will be paid for by 2000, instead of 2012
as originally planned, the tax would be sunseted if
Proposition 4A is voted down. The latest poll numbers from
Denver show the stadium measure supported by 57% of likely
voters, but Univ. of Denver Political Science Professor Dr.
Dan Smith said the "numbers will tighten a little come"
Tuesday and that the results will depend largely on who is
most effective in getting out their constituency.
MEDIUM AND MESSAGE: Citizens For A New Stadium (CFANS)
Deputy Campaign Manager Will Fox told THE DAILY that their
campaign has been aided by voter awareness that the $270M in
public financing for the facility would not be financed
through a new tax, but rather through the sales-tax
extension. Fox: "Polling data show that they understand
that this is not a new tax. ... That message is resonating
very well out there." CFANS is also stressing that there
will be no local blackouts or PPV telecasts of Broncos games
for the next 30 years. A heavy TV ad buy stating "We All
Win" has run on ESPN and during NFL and World Series games.
They have also bought spots during primetime shows such as
"Friends," "Dateline" and "20/20," and during "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" show in the afternoons. Pro-stadium spots are
also running on local radio. Citizens Opposing The Stadium
Tax (COST) Campaign Manager Ray Hutchins acknowledged that
they have been a "dismal failure in terms of rasing money."
The latest financial reports had COST raising about $25,000.
To make up for the financial shortfall, Hutchins said that
COST has had a "very organized information dissemination
process." Hutchins: "It is the hottest issue in the
election right now, so it's been easy to get that coverage.
... If we had the money, this would be a slam dunk."
Hutchins, however, complained about local radio's treatment
of the issue, especially KOA-AM, which is the Broncos'
flagship. Hutchins: "[KOA] has a financial interest in the
election and have been working hard to use our public
airwaves to manipulate the outcome." Professor Smith agreed
with Hutchins, acknowledging that the opposition has "done a
really good job of getting free media" and that KOA-AM "has
been unabashedly for the stadium" (THE DAILY).
TARGET MARKETS AND SWING VOTES: CFANS's Fox said they
have predominately targeted the women's vote, calling it
"our number one target." In addition to "tremendous
outreach" in the Hispanic and African-American communities,
Fox said, "We have an extremely targeted male program ...
[and] we have had a tremendous amount of success on the
grass roots front." More than 1,500 volunteers attended a
work rally around Labor Day, and Fox said that 50,000 yard
signs touting, "We All Win," have been distributed. COST's
Hutchins said they are targeting women and seniors, likely
voters in an off-year election. Professor Smith said the
largest swing vote on Tuesday will be the "soccer moms," the
women who follow the Broncos "tangentially," but may think
that more money should go toward other public services
"rather than into the private pockets of the Broncos."
THE BOWLEN FACTOR: Professor Smith, who feels the
stadium will pass, said the team's success "definitely" has
"mitigated some of the negatives that the [Broncos] Owner
Pat Bowlen has brought to the table. Most of the fans don't
particularly like Pat Bowlen. His handlers have done a good
job of kind of minimizing his role in the whole campaign."
COST's Hutchins, on Bowlen: "The people running his campaign
don't even let him out to talk. We've never been able to
debate him or hear what he has to say" (THE DAILY). In
Denver, columnist Mike Littwin writes today that Bowlen has
been "invisible" during the campaign and that it is "not
surprising" that there "are no ads featuring" him as he "has
a tendency to say the wrong thing" (DENVER POST, 10/30).
