Majority of NY voters oppose Hochul’s $850M giveaway for Buffalo Bills stadium: poll
A majority of likely voters oppose having New York put up $850 million in taxpayer subsidies to finance construction of a new Buffalo Bills stadium, a new poll reveals.
The survey, conducted by the firm co/efficient for Big Dog Strategies, found that 55% of likely voters disapproved of the stadium deal while only 22% approved of the plan announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday, with nearly one-quarter undecided.
That means more than two-thirds of voters who have an opinion oppose financing of the new Bills stadium for the team’s Florida-based owners Terry and Kim Pegula — $600 million from the state and $250 million from Erie County.
The poll found that voters in all areas of the state oppose the stadium deal — with the exception of the Buffalo region.
Voters were asked: “Governor Hochul announced a deal to invest $850 million of taxpayer funds in a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, where the team agrees to stay in Buffalo for 30 years. Do you approve or disapprove of spending $850 million on this deal?”
In New York City, 57% of voters said they disapproved of the stadium subsidy deal, while only 19% approved, with the rest undecided.
Meanwhile, 67% of voters in the Syracuse region oppose the deal, as do 61% in the Albany region and 54% in the Rochester region.
Conversely, the Bills’ fan base registered strong support — with 58% of voters expressing support while 31% disapproved.
The findings pose a potential political problems for Democrat Hochul, the former lieutenant governor who is trying to hold on to the governor’s chair after replacing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned under the threat of impeachment after a state investigation concluded that he sexually harassed or mistreated a slew of women.
More than twice as many Democrats opposed the stadium deal — 50% — than the 24% who supported it.
Sixty eight percent of Republican voters oppose the deal, as did 51% of self-identified independents.
“The deal is unpopular statewide. It’s going to be a real problem for Hochul,” said Chris Grant of Big Dog Strategies, a firm that works for Republican candidates.
Grant said Hochul is getting hammered by the progressive left and from the Republican right, including presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin, over the stadium funding.
The survey interviewed 830 likely voters on landline phones and via cell phones text from Monday through Wednesday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
