A recent poll shows support for a privately financed new Oakland A’s ballpark, with 74% of likely Oakland voters favoring the club’s plan.
The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce recently released its annual Pulse of Oakland poll, which was conducted by the FM3 public opinion research firm. According to the results, 74% of likely voters surveyed favor a new A’s ballpark in Oakland–45% “strongly” supporting the idea–compared to 16% who are opposed and 10% who have no opinion.
That poll comes as the A’s continue to evaluate their site options for a replacement for the aging Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Two locations remain under consideration, including the Coliseum property as well as the waterfront Howard Terminal site. Given the A’s history of coming up short in their searches for a new ballpark, which includes an effort to build on a site near Laney College that stalled last year, support from the area surrounding the proposed new facility will likely be a key variable going forward. More from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Support was also strong in the two neighborhoods under consideration for the new ballpark — East Oakland, where the A’s now play at the Coliseum and could rebuild, and West Oakland, near Howard Terminal on the waterfront.
“We are very excited to see such a high number,” A’s President Dave Kaval said in reaction to the poll.
If history is any indication, neighborhood support could be a critical factor for any final decision.
Just last year, a similar poll of 500 voters by FM3 found overwhelming citywide support for the A’s relocating downtown, next to Laney College — only to see the idea sink under a tidal wave of opposition from the college’s faculty and students.
The A’s have played in the Coliseum since 1968, their first year in Oakland. Their ongoing search for a new ballpark comes as the city’s sports scene sits in a state of flux, with the NFL’s Raiders expected to relocate to Las Vegas in the coming years and the NBA’s Warriors preparing to open a new arena in San Francisco in 2019.
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