Local News

Arlington Campaigns Narrow Ballpark Battle

November 7, 2016 / 5:48 PM CST / CBS Texas

click to expand

Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) – A din of voices filled the room where people huddled around long, folding tables with phones to their ears. Each person dialed a number, read their script, checked the number of a list and moved on to the next. They were the phone bank for the last-minute push to persuade Arlington voters to approve hundreds of millions dollars to help the Rangers build a ballpark with a roof.

And they weren't the only Vote Yes volunteers working.

"And then we have some volunteers out knocking on doors and getting the word out that way," said volunteer coordinator Kyle Fields. "So, we'll be doing that until 7 PM tomorrow."

Both pro-stadium and anti-stadium groups figure about 2/3 of likely Arlington voters went to the polls early. Now both sides are clamoring for about 40,000 voters they predict will show up Tuesday.

"They're vital! We have to have them! We're going to do everything we can to make sure they come out tomorrow," Fields said.

Including putting out nearly as many signs the night before the vote as the opposition group Save Our Stadium did the whole campaign.

Save Our Stadium just doesn't have the manpower to match any of the last-minute Vote Yes tactics.

"No, we don't," said the group's spokesman Andy Prior. "So we are doing little things that are highly effective."

Stadium opponents are placing signs tonight and volunteers tomorrow in precincts expecting the highest voting turnout. Save Our Stadium can list the areas where they've been outspent by the opposition but they think they're succeeding where it counts the most.

"Signs and fliers and mailers and people coming to their house, you know, every single day," Prior said of his opponent's tactics. "But you know, we feel like we've been able to get the point across to a large enough segment that we think we've got a really strong chance here."