Donato Letter: Stadium Investigation | Idaho Statesman

Scott Blaser’s assertions (Nov. 28) make sense and, if true, would answer a big question for me: where did the flood of well-organized and apparently very well-funded opposition to the proposed downtown stadium originate? I attended the public information session at the Grove and was greeted at the door by a flock of polite (paid?) distributors of carefully crafted flyers listing reasons to oppose the project. Inside, throngs of earnest citizens discussed the pros and cons, but it was difficult to distinguish between “official” project personnel and self-identified concerned citizens who made themselves appear to be knowledgeable and seemed always to be blocking view of the informational posters. Who knew there was so much interest in this stadium? And why so negative? The full-page ad in the Statesman on Election Day was the giveaway. It’s hard to organize a handful of ordinary citizens to oppose much of anything, least of all to fund a pricey media campaign or come out in droves on a weekday evening. I challenge the Idaho Statesman to put its best investigative reporters on this story and follow the money to find out the who and the why behind this opposition.