New Fort Wayne Stadium...or not.

Two stories at fortwayne.com about resistance to a new downtown stadium for the Fort Wayne Wizards.

From January 18 there was this Some on council aren’t buying and from today there is this Poll backs downtown, not stadium.

Excerpt from the first story:
Five million dollars is a lot of money. But to City Councilman Tom Smith, it’s not enough to justify the city’s plan to spend $25 million more on a new baseball stadium.
“If building stadiums downtown is a trend, the funding pattern should be a trend, too,” said the First District Republican, noting that Atlanta-based Hardball Capital’s proposed contribution represents a considerably lower percentage of the total cost than private investors have contributed to other minor-league stadiums built in recent years. “The city should ask for more money (from Hardball), and if we don’t see it, I’ll have a problem (voting for the project).”
...
In contrast to Hardball’s $5 million commitment (17 percent of the $30 million cost of Fort Wayne’s proposed Harrison Square stadium), private investors paid 70 percent of the cost in Peoria, Ill.; 62 percent in Round Rock, Texas; 53 percent in Nashville, Tenn.; and at least 50 percent in Charlotte, N.C. Many other recent stadiums included a percentage of private investment far in excess of 17 percent.
But advocates of Harrison Square – which would also include a hotel, parking garage, condominiums and shops – insist those figures tell only part of the story.
“We’ve said that when you total all private investment in Harrison Square, it will be at least 50 percent private, and that’s not a misrepresentation,” said Greg Leatherman, city deputy director of development. “One criticism of downtown ballparks is that they don’t always attract other projects, but this one will because other things will be done at the same time.”
That’s the plan, anyway. Under the city’s proposal, Hardball would invest an additional $18 million in new condominiums and shops, and a still-to-be-named developer would invest $48 million more in a new hotel. The city would also spend $10 million on a 900-space parking garage.
What's the saying about plans. You can forget about them once there is contact with the enemy.

Click on the poll to see all the questions and the answers. The questions and answers related to the stadium and the Wizards have been pulled and placed below:

Q2. Do you believe a downtown baseball stadium should be built, or not?

Yes 15%
No 71%
Refused/don’t know 14%

OUCH!

Q4. If another use could be found for Memorial Stadium, current home of the Wizards baseball team, would you be more likely to support a downtown stadium or not?

Yes 37%
No 53%
Refused/don’t know 10%

Another use, like the world's largest skatepark to become the new permanent home of The X Games?

Q10. As proposed, Wizards’ owners would pay $5 million of the cost for a $30 million new stadium. Is that too much for the owners to pay, too little, or about right?

Too much 3%

Too little 67%

About right 30%

I haven't check, but if I won POWERBALL last night, would that be enough?

Q11. Has anyone in your household attended a Wizards game in the last year?

Yes 47%
No 53%

Q12. Would you or your family attend a Wizards game in a new ballpark downtown?

Yes 45%
No 55%

According to this poll, attendance at Wizard games would drop by 2% if they moved to a downtown stadium. At least among the people responding to this poll. That is if I am reading this right.

Now, the analysis of the poll:

Seven of 10 Allen County adults believe it is important to revitalize downtown Fort Wayne, but a similar percentage thinks a downtown baseball stadium isn’t needed, according to a poll commissioned by The Journal Gazette and Indiana’s NewsCenter.

The telephone poll of 400 county adults, scientifically selected through a random sample, was taken Jan. 8, 9 and 11. It found more support for additional parking and shopping downtown than for more downtown housing, a third downtown hotel or a stadium.

The numbers didn’t come as a surprise to city officials, who said they must do a better job selling the Harrison Square project. The $125 million private-public downtown investment includes a new hotel, retail, housing and a city-owned minor-league baseball stadium. It would be in the area bounded by Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets and West Jefferson Boulevard.

Yes! That's it! If 70% of the voters don't like something, just sell it harder. Just punch a hole in the drywall, too. Hopefully you won't hit the spot with the stud and break your hand.

For the Harrison Square project to succeed, Mayor Graham Richard has to be its lead salesman, Talarico said. The councilman 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.”

Why would anyone think that they would be hit in their property taxes after talking to a politician? I mean, really. The idea that this would happen is so foreign as to be almost unbelievable. How can it be explained any better that NO property tax money would be used to the people? Maybe if they speak slowly enough people will understand. Or am I just being cynical?