Poll: More than half of Las Vegas voters oppose public funding for new A’s stadium
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – While lawmakers in Nevada seem happy to fork over $380 million in public money to help A’s owner John Fisher build a new stadium, a new poll finds a majority of voters in Las Vegas do not.
The Emerson College polling survey asked 500 likely Las Vegas voters, “Do you support or oppose the use of public money going towards the construction of a baseball stadium for the Las Vegas A’s?” Almost 32% supported public funding, while more than 52% opposed it and 16% remain unsure.
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“I think folks are questioning why we’re doing this. They’re questioning John Fisher’s commitment to Las Vegas,” said Alexander Marks with Schools Over Stadiums.
Schools Over Stadiums is a campaign created by the Nevada State Education Association. It is trying to stop the public funding of the Las Vegas stadium.
While those surveyed live in the city of Las Vegas, not along the part of the strip where the ballpark will be built, Marks thinks the poll is significant.
“There’s a 20-point percent difference right now,” he said. “When you expand that out, it’s going to be higher in Reno, where a stadium in Las Vegas is not going to benefit their community at all. It’s just an unpopular thing.”
Nevada voters may get a say on the public funding question. On Tuesday, the Nevada Supreme Court will rule as to whether Schools Over Stadiums can move ahead and collect signatures for their ballot measure to put the question on the November ballot. Marks is optimistic.
“We’re a public education union, right? If we have an extra $380 million lying around, it should be going to essential services like public education, and I think the public in Nevada and most recently the polling out of Las Vegas, they’re agreeing with us,” he said.
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