A majority of likely San Diego voters prefer a San Diego State University stadium and development plan over the competing SoccerCity initiative, according to a new poll.
A new SurveyUSA poll commissioned by the San Diego Union-Tribune and 10News gauged citizen opinion of the two initiatives, which will appear on the November ballot. Pitched by FS Investors, SoccerCity is a proposal to redevelop the SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm Stadium) site in Mission Valley and factors into San Diego’s MLS expansion bid. It calls for a stadium that would be constructed for an MLS club, along with surrounding development. FS Investors would enter into a 99-year lease with the city for 233 acres at the stadium site, plus 20 acres at the Chargers’ former training facility.
SoccerCity will appear on the ballot alongside SDSU West, a plan backed by the Friends of SDSU group. It calls for development that includes a new outpost for SDSU, with the stadium in its plan designed to accommodate SDSU football and professional soccer. In addition, the stadium would be capable of expanding from 35,000 seats to 55,000 seats in the event that it becomes home to an NFL franchise. (More on the proposal here.)
With the election just weeks away, the new poll finds stronger preference among likely voters for SDSU West (Measure G) than for SoccerCity (Measure E). More from the Union-Tribune:
Measure G, the SDSU West Initiative, would have the city sell 132 acres of land to San Diego State University. Some 57 percent of respondents said they are in favor of the measure; 26 percent said they were against it and 17 percent are unsure of where they stand.
That compares to 32 percent of locals who said they supported Measure E, the SoccerCity initiative that would have the city lease 233 acres at the stadium site and 20 acres at the Chargers’ former Murphy Canyon facility to investment firm FS Investors. Some 48 percent of respondents said they were against the measure and 20 percent are still undecided.
The poll surveyed 618 likely city of San Diego voters between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10. The margin of error is plus or minus five percentage points on the voting questions.
In the upcoming Nov. 6 election, city voters can vote yes on both, no on both, or yes on one and no on the other. If both initiatives receive more than 50 percent of the vote, the measure with the most votes will prevail. If neither passes the threshold, the city would likely solicit proposals for redevelopment of the site.
There is time for things to change, but with the election approaching–it will be held three weeks from tomorrow–this poll provides a sense of how the initiatives could stand in comparison to each other.
SoccerCity first surfaced in 2017, serving as one of the major components of San Diego’s MLS expansion bid. FS Investors previously called for a November 2017 referendum for the proposal, but city officials pushed a referendum on the project to 2018. San Diego did not make the slate of four expansion finalists considered by MLS late last year (Nashville, and later Cincinnati were selected from that group), but voter approval could it make it a more viable candidate for the next round of expansion.
RELATED STORIES: A Win-Win for MLS Fans in San Diego?; City Attorney to Appeal SoccerCity Court Ruling; SoccerCity Initiative Clears Legal Hurdle; San Diego Official Predicts Missed Revenue From SoccerCity, SDSU West Proposals; Best of 2017, #7: SoccerCity on Hold; San Diego Pushes SoccerCity Referendum to 2018; SoccerCity Backers Will Still Lobby for Special Election; Appraisals: Proposed Site of SoccerCity Worth $110.1M; San Diego City Council Rejects Fall SoccerCity Special Election; MLS: We Won’t Wait for San Diego MLS Referendum; San Diego Mayor Endorses Revised SoccerCity MLS Pitch; SDSU Ends Talks to Share New San Diego MLS Stadium; Report: SoccerCity Would Produce Millions in Annual Tax Revenue; FS Investors Submits SoccerCity Petitions; SoccerCity Proposal Could be Placed on November Ballot; SoccerCity Could Have an Annual $2.8 Billion Economic Impact; SoccerCity MLS Proposal Unveiled by San Diego Investors; San Diego, Tampa Bay Make Their MLS Cases; San Diego MLS Plan Unveiled; San Diego Close to Revealing MLS Pitch; San Diego Looks to Advance MLS Stadium Push; Residents Polled on New San Diego MLS Stadium; Padres Owner Among Potential San Diego MLS Leaders; San Diego Eying MLS Team