Poll Finds Most New Yorkers Oppose West Side Stadium

From The Associated Press

Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be gaining ground in his quest for re-election, but voters remain opposed to one of his pet projects: a $1.4 billion stadium to host the New York Jets and attract the 2012 Olympics. (See January 20 Canarsie Courier for full story.)

More than half — 58 percent - of New York City voters don’t want the stadium, while 34 percent are in favor, according to a Quinnipiac University poll. The new statistics were released Thursday, a day after results from the same survey showed Bloomberg in a statistical tie with former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, a Democratic challenger.

Some respondents (26 percent) even said the mayor’s support of the plan would dissuade them from voting for his re-election in November, though 69 percent said it wouldn’t make a difference.

Fifty-three percent said they would support the project if it were true that the stadium would generate enough income to repay the money the city and state would borrow to help build it. Matthew Higgins, vice president for the Jets, emphasized that finding. “The poll shows New Yorkers support the project so long as it pays for itself, which even the independent budget office says it will,” Higgins said.

Only 19 percent said they would be more likely to attend a Jets game if the team moved to the proposed stadium, which would be located on the far West Side of Manhattan. Nine percent said they would be less likely to attend a game, while 70 percent said it wouldn’t make a difference. The Jets’ current home is in East Rutherford, N.J. If the stadium were built, the poll found, 66 percent of New Yorkers would travel there by public transit, while 15 percent would come by car. The reliance on mass transit could hamper tailgate parties, which 64 percent of respondents said were “very” or “somewhat” important to their enjoyment of a game, the poll found.

While most voters (63 percent) said they want the city to host the 2012 Olympics, only 36 percent said they believe Bloomberg’s claim that the stadium is necessary to bring the games to New York, the poll said.

The poll surveyed more than one thousand registered voters from January 11-17. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.