SAN DIEGO – While more than 87 percent of county residents believe professional sports teams add to the region's quality of life, nearly 49 percent do not support a new Chargers football stadium, according to a poll released Monday by a business-focused public policy group.
The San Diego Institute for Policy Research also reported that those polled by telephone this month prefer the stadium remain in San Diego's Mission Valley.
The survey shows 43.5 percent favored Mission Valley for a new stadium; 21.9 percent Oceanside; 16.5 percent Chula Vista; and 7.1 percent National City. Of the remaining 11 percent, 7.3 percent were undecided, 2.9 percent believed all locations were bad, and 0.8 percent believed all locations were good.
The Chargers are evaluating potential stadium sites in Oceanside, Chula Vista and National City.
Those surveyed “are encouraging folks to take one more look at Mission Valley,” said W. Erik Bruvold, an institute spokesman. “Clearly it has a lot of support. People like the site.”
Mark Fabiani, the Chargers' general counsel, said he had not seen the poll but thought those surveyed needed more information, including how the stadium would be privately financed and how no tax dollars would be used to build it.
As for the preference for the Mission Valley site for a new stadium, he said, “It's not like we don't see what the 43.5 percent are seeing. We thought it was the best site, but it didn't work out. There's no evidence the city (of San Diego) is interested in revisiting the site, and we've been forced to move on.”
Competitive Edge Research and Communication conducted the poll of 1,005 randomly selected adults. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The San Diego Institute of Policy Research paid for the poll. The group was founded in 2006 by millionaire businessman Steve Francis, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2005.
