A new UTSA poll suggests voters are more supportive of renovating county-owned East Side facilities for a year-round new rodeo district than helping pay for a $1.3 billion NBA arena for the San Antonio Spurs.
Both rely on increasing and extending the county’s venue tax, but support for the $119 million rodeo district plans, known on the Nov. 4 ballot as Prop A, was 44% in favor to 41% opposed.
The poll showed underwater support for Prop B’s plan to contribute $311 to the Spurs arena, with 40% in favor to 45% opposing.
It’s the first look at public opinion on the measures since Bexar County’s venue tax ballot language was made public.
Early voting starts Monday, Oct. 20, for the Nov. 4 election.
“Support for ballot propositions is always very fluid, especially in this case where the subject matter — a venue tax — is pretty dense,” said Bryan Gervais, the polling center’s director and a professor of political science in the UT San Antonio Department of Political Science and Geography.
“That said, it’s fair to say that the effort to secure venue tax funding for a new Spurs arena faces an uphill battle.”
UTSA’s Center for Public Opinion Research surveyed 660 likely voters between Oct. 1 and Oct. 3, and the poll has a +/- 3.8% margin of error.
Gervais said voters were presented with the full ballot language they’ll see next to Props A and B.
The Spurs arena would be built using some city money as well, but the city’s agreement with the team hinges on the passage of Prop B — not a public vote.
In a nod to the weight of the Nov. 4 vote, the Spurs have put $2 million into a PAC urging voters to support both Props A and B.
Last week an unknown firm was also in the field with a push poll, which uses favorable messages to sway voters while ostensibly seeking their opinion on a person or issue.
It remains unclear what happens if either or both proposals fail to gain voters’ support.
“I will respect the decisions of voters,” Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai told reporters Wednesday after a state of the county address. “I’m not going to speculate what will be the next move until we see the results.”