A telephone poll of 574 Bexar County voters conducted
from October 9-12 by the Univ. of TX at San Antonio
Metropolitan Research and Policy Institute's Survey Research
Lab showed that 50.7% supported the plan to publicly fund a
$175M arena for the Spurs, while 36.6% opposed it, according
to Travis Poling of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, who
reported the remainder of the voters were "undecided or
didn't answer the question." The survey began before the
Spurs, Bexar County and the Coliseum Advisory Board "signed
a binding agreement" for the arena's "financial details."
The poll numbers showed in households with income of less
than $25,000 a year, 49% "backed the arena plan" and 37%
opposed it; more than half -- 55% -- of families with annual
income of $26,000-44,000 "support the plan." The survey had
a margin of error of +/- 4.2% (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/16).
ARENA REAX: NBA Commissioner David Stern said that the
league "would support" franchise relocation "in the right
case," but declined to "address the possibility of the Spurs
leaving" if the November 2 referendum doesn't pass. Stern:
"Our board would be supportive in the right case. I'm sure
of it" (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/15). In San Antonio, Buck
Harvey: "I believe that the arena proposal will fail. That
this season will be the Spurs' last in San Antonio. That,
within a few years, we will look at what's left behind and
wonder what we were thinking" (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/16).
Also in San Antonio, Dan Cook wrote to voters, "I'm not
asking you to vote for the new arena deal. I'm just asking
you not to vote against it if you don't understand what it's
all about" (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/16). The EXPRESS-NEWS
backed the arena and stated, "We are ready to recommend that
voters say yes to a new arena" (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 10/15).
