Polling The Public

The Journal Gazette and Indianas News Center had a large section of today's paper devoted to a poll conducted about a downtown stadium in Fort Wayne. Besides ignoring the larger scope involved with the entire Harrison Square development that includes a ballpark, there are a number of other problems we have with the way the poll was carried out and the results.

Poll backs downtown, not stadium
Ballpark called crucial to plans
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/16513264.htm

Some quotes from the article:
“If all you plan to do is build a baseball stadium, don’t do it,” [Mark Becker] said. “This is not just a baseball stadium.”

"City Councilman Tim Pape, D-5th, questioned the validity of the poll, saying even he might oppose a downtown stadium with the way the question was phrased"

“There would be nothing ever done in Fort Wayne if we did it based on the poll results,” [Sam Talarico Jr] said. “Leadership is about doing things in the face of opposition.”

"In the poll, stadium proponents said the ballpark would help the economy, bring life to downtown, provide entertainment for children and bring Fort Wayne a higher-level baseball team" - Very interesting, I'd like to know what they have in mind

"[Sam Talarico Jr] said he is often faced with opponents to Harrison Square, but after he explains that no general property taxes will be used, opponents begin to soften their position."

"“Immediately everyone thinks they’re going to be hit in their property taxes,” Talarico said. “We’ve got to do a better job explaining the background.”"

"Pape acknowledged the city does need better public education about the benefits of the entire project. He said the business community supports the investment but should more vocally express its support."

“To us, the stadium is a clear part in what will make this feasible,” [Jason] Freier said. Just building a stadium would not guarantee other development and revitalization would follow. Building in conjunction with the stadium – retail shops and condominiums are planned by Hardball – would take out the guesswork of whether a stadium alone would attract development and lead to the project’s success, he said."

"[Steve] Brody said years have gone by without significant private investment downtown and this would be a way to get millions of dollars in one project."

Poll results
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/16513544.htm

Asking whether or not a downtown stadium should be built is a flawed question. The Harrison Square proposal is NOT a stadium-only proposal. This was the wrong question to ask and it misrepresents the issue. The City Council will not be voting solely on a downtown ballpark, it will vote on the entire project, which includes the ballpark, condos, retail, a hotel, and a parking garage. The question should have asked about the entire Harrison Square development. Also, asking about the ballpark first before any of the other questions such as the importance of downtown revitalization is the wrong approach. You don't ask about a specific part of a downtown revitalization development before asking about the merits of downtown revitalization.
Only until question 9 does the poll mention property taxes, to which 62% said that no property taxes being used is very important. There is no correlation or mention of the fact that Harrison Square is not using property taxes. If this had been mentioned earlier along with the question about building a downtown stadium, even though it is a flawed question, what would the result have been? I'd be willing to bet that more people would be in favor of the project if they knew that no property taxes are being used.

The shopping and housing aspects of Harrison Square have indirect support, with 68% saying that more shopping is needed downtown and 44% (compared to 38%) indicating that more housing is needed.

The whipping boy received some more lashes, with 75% of people thinking that more parking is needed downtown.

Question 10 is another flawed question, asking if $5 million out of 30 for the ballpark from Hardball is enough while totally ignoring the scope of the entire project. Also, as mentioned before, naming rights can further offset public costs and increase private investment.

Methodology
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/16513530.htm

No calls were made to people who exclusively use cell phones and have no landlines. What generational group tends to use cell phones only? Younger people, such as students, young professionals, and singles. These are the types of people who would most likely be interested in downtown development, because that's what they're looking for: exciting, lively downtowns with the kind of urban living that appeals to them.

From the article:
"The original results oversampled respondents ages 65 and older and undersampled respondents ages 18 to 34. The weighting process assigned a higher value to answers from younger respondents and a lower value to answers from older respondents."

Hopefully the results were weighted properly.

Survey responders weigh in with ideas
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/16513293.htm

Some responses:
“Add recreational facilities for families.” - Harrison Square would include a public park

“A skating rink for the children.” - Been to Headwaters lately?

“Turn the area near the river into a park.” - Been to Headwaters lately?

“Add a family water park.” - Need an interested developer first

“They should focus on the surrounding areas before they work on downtown.” - Are you kidding me? The past 30 or 40 years has been about the surrounding areas. Focusing on the surrounding areas is what turned downtown into what it is today

“They need private enterprise to come in and risk their money.” - That's exactly what Hardball Capital is and why they're here

“They should address the traffic issues first and foremost.” - Is there a problem to address?

Sounding off on proposed stadium
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/16513284.htm

Some responses:
“We already have a good stadium in a good location.” - No. Just no. Visit some other ballparks. Baseball is a community sport, not a put-it-by-a-bypass-surrounded-by-a-parking-lot sport

“We have one already that resulted in a tax increase.” - It's a good thing then that we learned lessons from the one we have and that Harrison Square won't increase property taxes

“It’s being built in the wrong place.” - Memorial Stadium was built in the wrong place

“It would ruin the look of downtown.” - So a liquor store and a bunch of parking lots looks good for downtown now?

“If they want one, they should build their own.” - That's part of what this whole thing is about

Comments? Don't be shy, fire 'em off.