Civitas Flash Poll: Wilmington Voters Still Oppose Stadium Bonds

Nov. 2, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Francis De Luca or Jim Tynen (919) 834-2099
Francis.DeLuca@NCCivitas.org  or James.Tynen@NCCivitas.org

RALEIGH – A new Civitas Institute Flash Poll indicates a solid majority of Wilmington voters continue to oppose issuing $37 million in bonds to build a baseball stadium in the city.

The Civitas Flash Poll of 300 registered voters in Wilmington with a margin of error of 5.8 percent was taken Oct. 29 and 30.

Fifty-nine percent of Wilmington voters said they were certain to vote against the bond issue and the tax to pay for it. Twenty-six percent said they were certain to vote for it, and 15 percent were not sure.

Also, 72 percent of the voters said their taxes should not be used to pay for a ballpark, while only 23 percent favored the idea. Asked how high a priority a stadium should be for Wilmington, 47 percent said it should not be a priority at all, and 25 percent said it should be a low priority. Only 11 percent said it should be a high priority and 17 percent said it should be a medium priority. In addition, 39 percent said the top priority for the city is jobs, with 29 percent said it should be the economy.

Finally, when it comes to Wilmington City Council, 53 percent of the respondents said it was irresponsible when determining how to use taxpayer dollars. Only 25 percent thought the council was responsible in spending taxpayers’ money.

In a Civitas Flash Poll Aug. 1 and 2, 80 percent of voters said they were opposed to taxpayer funding of a baseball stadium in Wilmington.

“It’s important to note that the current poll asks if they are certain to vote against the bond issue, and nearly six out of 10 say they are,” said Civitas President Francis X. De Luca. “Despite lots of hype about the ballpark, Wilmington voters’ underlying opposition remains strong. More than seven out of 10 voters say taxes should not be used for a ballpark, and also that a ballpark should be a low priority or not a priority at all. With the election days away, it looks as if the stadium bond will go down to defeat.”

Click here for crosstabs.

Text of questions:

Wilmington City voters will also vote on issuing $37 million in bonds and a tax to pay for the bonds, to build and equip a baseball stadium in Wilmington. On this ballot measure, are you … Certain to vote yes? Certain to vote no? Or not certain?

26%                 Yes

59%                 No

15%                 Not Certain

Regardless of how you may feel about the specific question on the ballot, in general, do you think tax dollars should? Or should not? Be spent on a baseball stadium in Wilmington?

23%                 Should

72%                 Should Not

5%                   Not Sure

Should building a baseball stadium in Wilmington be …a high priority? A medium priority? A low priority? Or not a priority?

11%                 High

17%                 Medium

25%                 Low

47%                 Not a Priority

1%                   Not Sure

Which of these issues is the most important one facing the city of Wilmington right now? Jobs? The economy? Crime? Roads? Public Transit? Or something else?

39%                 Jobs

29%                 Economy

7%                   Crime

10%                 Roads

3%                   Public Transit

9%                   Something Else

2%                   Not Sure

Is the Wilmington City Council responsible? Or irresponsible? When determining how to use taxpayer dollars?

25%                 Responsible

53%                 Irresponsible

22%                 Not Sure

(Because of rounding, percentages may not add up to 100 percent.)

About the Poll: This poll was conducted by telephone in the voice of a professional announcer. Respondent households were selected at random, using Random Digit Dialed (RDD) sample provided by Survey Sampling, of Fairfield CT. All respondents heard the questions asked identically. Where necessary, respondents were weighted using the most recent US Census estimates for age, gender, ethnic origin and region, to align the sample to the population. In theory, one can say with 95% certainty that the results would not vary by more than the stated margin of sampling error, in one direction or the other, had the entire universe of respondents with home telephones been interviewed with complete accuracy. Research methodology, questionnaire design and fieldwork for this survey were completed by SurveyUSA of Clifton, NJ.

For more information on Civitas polling, see http://www.nccivitas.org/category/poll/.

More information on the Civitas Institute is available at www.nccivitas.org, or contact Jim Tynen at (919) 834-2099.