FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2017
CONTACT
Jessamyn Sabbag, Executive Director of Oakland Rising
(415) 424-2600
Alvina Wong, Oakland Organizing Director at Asian Pacific Environmental Network
(510) 467-0359
OAKLAND, CA – Oakland Rising, an alliance of nine Oakland grassroots groups, conducted a comprehensive poll of 2,526 registered voters between Oct 21st and November 6th, to find out where people stand on the Oakland A’s proposal to build a stadium at Laney College. Results show that 4 in 5 people living in Oakland want the Oakland A’s to stay at the Coliseum and invest in East Oakland, rather than construct a stadium and ballpark village next to Laney College, Chinatown and Eastlake.
“This poll is a true reflection of what Oakland communities want. The people we spoke with oppose constructing a stadium at the Laney site which would inevitably push out and could destroy historic cultural neighborhoods,” said Oakland Rising Executive Director Jessamyn Sabbag. “People also overwhelmingly support keeping the stadium in East Oakland as part of a plan to create safety, stability, and fair economic investment that benefits the Black and Brown working-class and immigrant families who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.”
The A’s proposal to construct a stadium, tourist businesses, and luxury housing next to Laney College would push people out of the surrounding Eastlake and Chinatown neighborhoods. According to the 2010 Census, 78% of Chinatown households are renters. Nearly 90% of Chinatown residents are of Asian descent and 45% speak a primary language other than English.
“In Chinatown and Eastlake, immigrants and refugees have spent generations building communities where people can thrive. Our friends, churches, doctors, and stores are here. We will not allow the A’s owners destroy the sanctuaries we’ve built,” said Alvina Wong, Oakland Lead Community Organizer at Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN).
Oakland Rising’s poll includes more than four times the number of people than the Chamber of Commerce-commissioned poll. Oakland Rising’s poll included registered voters with a diversity of voting histories, not just ‘likely-voters’, a methodology that has historically silenced the voices of working-class people of color who may not vote in every single election.
- 4 in 5 Oaklanders want the A’s to stay at the Coliseum and invest in East Oakland. 2,227 of respondents live in Oakland. 82% of people living in Oakland support the A’s remaining at the Coliseum, 5% are opposed, and 13% undecided.
- 84% of African American voters, 80% of Asian voters, and 87% of Latino voters support the A’s staying at the Coliseum rather than constructing a new stadium and ballpark village at Laney.
- Young people overwhelming support the A’s remaining at the Coliseum. 93% of people age 18-24 and 85% of people age 25-34 support this position.
- Middle class and working class people responded the A’s should stay at the Coliseum and invest in East Oakland. 86% of people making less than $50,000 / year, and 81% of people making $50,000 – $100,000 / year support this position.
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Oakland Rising is an alliance of nine grassroots organizations that educate and mobilize voters in the flatlands and throughout the city to take charge of the issues impacting our lives and advance smart, community-first solutions for a thriving Town.
