The poll showed 74% of likely voters surveyed supported the A's plans for a new ballpark in the cityGETTY IMAGES
A new poll found that three out of four Oakland voters "remain strongly supportive" of the A's efforts to build a privately financed ballpark, according to Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. Oakland residents "even appear willing to let the city lend a hand" with the infrastructure costs of the ballpark, "so long as the money is repaid by taxes generated by the development." The question of the A's ballpark was part of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce's "annual Pulse of Oakland poll." The poll showed 74% of likely voters surveyed "supported the team's plans for a new ballpark in the city," with 45% saying they "strongly" support the concept. Only 16% of those polled were "opposed to the ballpark." The survey of 500 voters was taken from Oct. 7-14 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4%. The most support for the ballpark was "among voters ages 50 to 64, and with households with incomes of more than $120,000 a year." Support was also "strong in the two neighborhoods under consideration for the new ballpark," East Oakland, where the A's currently play at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and West Oakland, "near Howard Terminal on the waterfront." A's President Dave Kaval said that the team is "more than halfway" through agreeing to an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Port of Oakland for the 55-acre site at Howard Terminal (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/29).
