Hamilton County, Chattanooga mayors blast 'misleading' Wamp stadium poll

Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The proposed site for the new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium is seen from Point Park on Lookout Mountain on July 6, 2022.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / The proposed site for the new Chattanooga Lookouts stadium is seen from Point Park on Lookout Mountain on July 6, 2022.

Polling commissioned by Hamilton County mayoral candidate Weston Wamp's campaign suggests that more than half of county residents, 58%, oppose plans to build a new $79.5 million stadium for the Chattanooga Lookouts on the former Wheland Foundry site in the city's Southside.

Additionally, almost two-thirds of the 406 respondents, 65%, said they believe officials should put the project on hold until a new mayor takes office on Sept. 1. Wamp, a Republican, and Democrat Matt Adams are running to replace outgoing Mayor Jim Coppinger, who is stepping down at the end of August after serving in the position since 2011.

"I think it's important to consider the complexities and ramifications of a deal this big at the same time that county government is going to transition," Wamp told the Times Free Press in a phone interview Tuesday. "That's been my focus since I spoke up a few weeks ago."

But proponents of the project, including Coppinger, argued that the survey lacks context and dismissed it as a "push poll," a claim that Wamp and the firm his campaign hired to complete the survey, Spry Strategies, strongly denied.

According to the American Association for Public Opinion Research, push polls are a form of negative campaigning disguised as a political poll. They aim to persuade large number of voters and affect election outcomes rather than measure opinions.

(READ MORE: Wamp poll shows opposition to new Lookouts stadium plan for Chattanooga)

"The results of a misleading push poll should not be seen as anything other than a desperate attempt to discredit numerous public meetings and years of hard work that have gone into building something great for the residents of Hamilton County," Coppinger said in a written statement Tuesday. "I wonder what this poll would have shown if respondents had been reminded that not one penny of existing tax dollars will go to fund the stadium and that it could catalyze up to $1 billion in new investment in Chattanooga, over $200 million of which has already been committed?"

Ryan Burrell, the president and founder of Spry Strategies, told the Times Free Press by phone that his company has conducted polls for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Republican Party and more.

"Spry Strategies doesn't do push polls," he said. "Push polls are $1,200 polls that have questions that are trying to extract an answer. These questions were right down the middle."

The survey asked two questions about the stadium:

- Do you believe the generational decision to publicly fund a new stadium should be put on hold until a new mayor and seven new commissioners take office on Sept. 1?

- The city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County are proposing $79 million in bonds to fund a new baseball stadium for the Lookouts. Do you support taxpayer funding for a new stadium on the south side of Chattanooga?

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly supports the project and stood alongside Coppinger during a news conference at the Wheland Foundry site on June 30 announcing the proposal. He had similarly pointed remarks about the survey.

"The results of a push poll that uses misleading questions to get biased answers should never be used to gauge public support for such a vital project for Chattanooga," Kelly said in a written statement issued by his office.

Kelly said that everyone agrees the former foundry site needs to be redeveloped and that a multiuse stadium is the key to unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in surrounding growth, which he said will both pay for the stadium and generate tens of millions of dollars in excess revenue for Hamilton County Schools.

"What we need people to understand - and I can't say this clearly enough - is that not one penny of existing tax dollars will go to fund the stadium," he said. "Let's get the story straight and gauge public opinion around facts."

Jason Freier is the CEO of Hardball Capital, which owns the Lookouts and minor league teams in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Columbia, South Carolina. He said the plans to build the new baseball stadium in Fort Wayne received a similar reception before its construction.

"When people come to understand the project, it polls much better," he said by email. "Even then, it can be hard to tell if a complex project is a good investment or not based on polling the general public. This is often an area where leaders need to drill down into the details and show leadership. It is absolutely the case that, when it is built, even the staunchest opponents come around."

Adams, Wamp's opponent, said by phone that people tend to become more receptive to the project when they hear all the details.

"It's not like McDonald farm where we've had it for almost a year now with nothing on it, yet," he said, referring to a real estate purchase by the county in Sale Creek. "It's different in that it is an investment in property that will benefit the whole community."

City staff and the master developer for the project, Jim Irwin, presented the stadium plan to Chattanooga City Council on Tuesday and fielded questions from members of the panel.

Officials hope the stadium can spur up to $1 billion in development on 120 acres of blighted property. Assuming the land sees a conservative investment of at least $350 million, staff said 63% of the stadium cost would be covered by new property tax revenue generated on the land.

The rest of the funding would come from sales taxes from the stadium, a more than $1 million annual lease with the Lookouts, parking revenues and roughly $1.5 million apiece from the city and county. A sports authority created by the city and county would borrow the $79.5 million needed to build the project.

Vice Chairwoman Raquetta Dotley, of East Lake, represents that part of town on the City Council and supports the proposal. It would breathe much-needed life into an area that is currently unused, she said.

"I'm very community-minded," she told the Times Free Press after the meeting. "I understand the economic implications of this because it's going to bring in millions and possibly billions of dollars in development but it also impacts the surrounding communities, especially those that have been under-invested in for many years."

The proposed special tax district also encompasses a sliver of land that would help provide a walkable connection between the Tennessee Riverwalk and Alton Park. The city has committed funding for that project and fundraising is ongoing, Dotley said, but the tax district would provide further momentum.

Council members intend to hold a special called meeting on July 19 to hear more details about the project. The plan will require approval from the City Council, the County Commission and the city and county industrial development boards. City staff have outlined a series of targeted dates for those approvals:

- July 21: Public hearing before the Hamilton County Industrial Development Board.

- July 27: Hamilton County Commission agenda session.

- Aug 1: Public hearing before the City of Chattanooga Industrial Development Board.

- Aug. 3: Hamilton County Commission tax district vote and creation of a new joint sports authority.

- Aug 9: Chattanooga City Council tax district vote and creation of a new joint sports authority.

Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @flavid_doyd.

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