NFL UPDATE: SURVEY: PASADENA WANTS NFL TEAM ECONOMIC BENEFITS CITED BY RESIDENTS.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

A Rose Bowl-commissioned survey of Pasadena residents released Thursday shows that they are more interested in the economic benefits that a NFL team might bring to the city than they are concerned with increased traffic, loss of recreational opportunities and a change in the stadium's historic status.

The survey is expected to serve as a rebuttal to community activists who have voiced opposition to the Rose Bowl, saying the NFL would bring too many negative impacts in exchange for funding a $500 million renovation.

The debate over that issue, which has simmered in Pasadena the past two years, will take center stage Monday, when the city council will consider whether to certify the project's environmental-impact report.

The survey, released at the Rose Bowl Operating Company's monthly meeting Thursday night, indicated that 58 percent of Pasadena voters are in favor of bringing a NFL team to the Rose Bowl with 33 opposed.

The poll, conducted by phone April 25-27, surveyed 800 registered voters on 26 questions, ranging from their assessment of quality of life to whether the city council should approve the EIR.

Among the findings touted by one of its authors, Richard Maullin, was that it oversampled residents in District 6, which lies just west of the Rose Bowl, where much of the opposition resides.

Those in favor of the NFL playing in the Rose Bowl outpaced opponents in District 6, 48 percent to 42, although it was behind the citywide numbers.

A recent mail-in survey by the West Pasadena Residents Association, which opposes the pursuit of the NFL, said 54 percent opposed bringing the NFL to Pasadena under any circumstances.

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com