Miami-Dade

Survey Says

Poll shows strong opposition to $3 billion megadeal

By Cynthia Archbold

West Miami-Dade County voters do not want to build a new baseball stadium for the Marlins, a port tunnel or Museum Park, according to a poll completed this week.

At the request of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier D. Souto, Florida International University Professor Dario Moreno surveyed 842 voters in districts 9, 10, 11 and 12 about the county and city of Miami’s $3 billion downtown redevelopment plan.

A majority of respondents opposed the plan and are worried about their ability to pay their taxes, keep their jobs and maintain financial security in a time of economic crisis, according to the survey. 

About 44 percent of respondents said no when asked, “Do you think the county is heading in the right direction?” Only 27 percent said yes, and 29 percent were undecided.

The survey shows 61 percent of the voters oppose the publicly funded Marlins baseball stadium, while 29 percent support it and 10 percent are undecided. 

“Opposition to the Marlins stadium is consistent across ethnic lines,” according to the survey results. For example, 58 percent of Hispanics oppose the stadium, while 32 percent support it; 70 percent of non-Hispanic whites oppose the stadium, while 20 percent want to build it; and 61 percent of blacks oppose the stadium, while 30 percent are in favor of it.

The survey also found that 58 percent of the voters oppose the Port of Miami tunnel, while only 25 percent support it and 18 percent are undecided.

Meanwhile, the poll reveals that most voters also oppose building Museum Park, with 64 percent opposed, 25 percent in favor and 12 percent undecided.

In general, 56 percent of the voters named taxes the most important or second most important issue to them, with crime and traffic registering at approximately 12 percent each.

The results reinforce that the public needs the opportunity to decide whether to use billions of tax dollars to finance the projects, Souto said, and he hopes to convince his fellow commissioners to put the global agreement question on the ballot Nov. 4.

“We are crazy if we don’t take this to a public vote,” he said.