The Spurs "have gained more support for a publicly
financed arena in the afterglow of the NBA Finals, but a
majority of voters remain opposed to the venture," according
to John Tedesco of the SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS. A new poll
of 927 registered voters in Bexar County conducted by the
Univ. of TX at S.A. between July 13-18 shows that "more
than" 60% are "strongly opposed or somewhat opposed" to a
publicly financed arena. However, "nearly" 39% of those
surveyed said that they "strongly support or somewhat
support" the project, up from 22% in a similar poll
conducted two years ago. A number that "has barely budged
in two years" was the 44% of respondents who "strongly
opposed" a tax-funded arena, down from 48% two years ago.
Spurs Exec VP Leo Gomez: "It's not surprising to me that
people are against taxes. I'm concerned with the generality
of the question. It just says taxes. It doesn't define the
tax." Tedesco writes that poll results were "made public as
county and city officials race to put arena proposals" on
the November 2 ballot. The poll has a margin of error of
+/- 3% (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 7/22). Also in S.A., Carlos
Guerra writes, "About the only surprise uncovered ... is
that women seemed a bit more inclined than men to spend
taxes for an arena" (S.A. EXPRESS-NEWS, 7/22).
