Most voters oppose tax breaks for stadium,

March 1, 200521 yr

As the Florida Marlins prepare to ask the state and Miami-Dade County to help build a new ballpark, a new poll shows the measure is wildly unpopular.

BY MARC CAPUTO

mcaputo@herald.com

TALLAHASSEE - More than 80 percent of Florida voters oppose tax breaks to help build new homes for the Florida Marlins and Orlando Magic, as well as a hall of fame for NASCAR, according to a new survey.

The general public isn't the only one opposed: Self-described fans of the Marlins, Magic and NASCAR don't favor the tax breaks, either, the poll shows. Nearly 70 percent of those who identified themselves as Marlins fans said they were opposed.

Results of the survey, conducted by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University, were released 24 hours before today's vote by Miami-Dade County commissioners on whether to help the Marlins build a $420 million ballpark. That nonbinding agreement, already inked by the City of Miami, will form the justification to ask the Legislature for upwards of $60 million.

Marlins President David Samson, who called the county-city-team agreement ''historic,'' said he couldn't comment on the poll because he didn't see how the questions were framed. The stadium coalition seeks what's called a yearly ''rebate'' from the state of the first $2 million in sales tax money collected at the door.

Therefore, stadium boosters argue, the tax kickback won't dip into state coffers.

''This will be generating millions and millions for the state,'' Samson said. ``There's going to be a huge surplus.''

But opponents of the financing plan have long argued that the state rebate, used by a few other teams, guarantees $60 million over 30 years, regardless of whether any sales tax is collected. When the law was proposed in the early 1990s, it was dubbed the 'Hood Robbin' Act'' because critics said it took tax money from the poor and gave it to wealthy team owners.

NASCAR has asked several cities in the country whether they want to help build a Hall of Fame for the racing industry. Daytona Beach has expressed an interest and is seeking money from the state.

Quinnipiac Pollster Clay F. Richards said his firm didn't have the time to explain to poll respondents the ins and outs of the funding proposal. But he said the message would probably have been the same.

Gov. Jeb Bush said Monday he was ``not surprised that there is a majority of people opposed to the subsidizing of sports franchises. I'm surprised at the magnitude.''

Bush also said the poll results could help build momentum against the Marlins and other sports teams in the upcoming legislative session and that a case has to be made why private team owners deserve monetary help from the government.

The telephone poll of 1,007 Florida voters Feb. 18-22 has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Herald staff writer Gary Fineout contributed to this report.

- Herald