In the world of politics, there is something known as "half truths." Half Truths are when a politician will tell you something that is true but has been taken way out of context or omitted important facts to make you believe it stands for something else. The intent is to give you a false impression of something while avoiding slander and libel charges at the same time.
For example, Politician A will run an ad saying, "You can't vote for my opponent because he wants to enact a 7% sales tax. Clearly he wants to raise taxes." What the politician didn't tell you is that Politician B voted for the sales tax to be raised in exchange for all other taxes to be abolished, thus lowering the overall taxes you would pay. If you didn't know the additional information, you would believe Politician B just wants to raise taxes on everyone.
Unfortunately, Roberts Stadium has fallen victim to some Half Truths, mainly by those who wish to get it in the ground as soon as possible. They know what they're doing but they rely on you not knowing the whole situation about Roberts Stadium and unfortunately many local residents have taken the bait.
One of the biggest Half Truths going around right now is the belief that " It will take $36 million to $90 million to renovate Roberts Stadium. Unless we find that amount of money we will have to demolish Roberts Stadium."
This has been echoed by...
Steve Bohleber, President of the Parks Board: http://m.courierpress.com/news/2010/oct/12/parks-board-approves-wesselman-proposal/
" Bohleber said the visitors bureau's plan gets rid of Roberts Stadium, which he deemed an obsolete building. A consultant hired by the city said making renovations to Roberts would cost between $39 million and $90 million."
The ECVB: http://www.theparkevansville.com/review-frequently-asked-questions/index.php
"Roberts Stadium has been a wonderful attribute to the community for over 50 years. Why would we want to tear it down?
Roberts Stadium has been a wonderful attribute to the community. But studies have shown that it has outlived its useful purpose. The new Downtown Arena will replace Roberts Stadium as the key venue for concerts, sporting events and other key events. The new state of the art facility that will provide far more attributes than that of Roberts Stadium.
Additionally, in studies conducted on future uses for Roberts Stadium and the costs related to a possible re-development of the Roberts facility, it has found to be financially infeasible to renovate the current structure into a useful structure. Studies for various options of reuse put an estimated cost in the range of 25 to 40 million dollars to renovate the Roberts Stadium facility. Even after this expenditure, the community would still have a 54-year-old facility."
The Mayor: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/apr/09/evansville-mayor-likes-roberts-stadium-proposal/
" One alternative bandied about called for building a water park inside the stadium. But no one has come forward with a way to pay for that project, Weinzapfel said.
He speculated that private developers may be shying away from Roberts Stadium for the same reason city officials decided against trying to renovate it. A consulting firm hired to study the 54-year-old venue concluded it would cost as much as $91.9 million to make improvements meant to curtail the threat of flooding there and strengthen the roof so it could support more weight."
So with all these city officials/leaders coming out with these huge figures, it must be true that Roberts Stadium is beyond repair, correct? Well, lets take a look at the study.
http://www.evansvillearenaproject.com/downloads/consultant_report.pdf
This is taken directly from pages 40 & 41...
The items considered as necessary just to
maintain the status quo are listed in the following table:
1. Central Plant (heating, cooling, hot water). . .$3-4 million
2. Arena bowl infrastructure upgrades
(energy efficiency, constant speed fans, etc.). . .$2 million
3. Locker room air handling. $500,000
4. Drainage system. ..$300,000
5. Electrical distribution system. ..$400,000
6. Telephone equipment. ..$100,000
7. Catwalk system for arena bowl
(lighting and maintenance improvements). ..$1.4 million
8. Sound system upgrade .$3-5 million
9. Scoreboard replacement ..$1.5-3 million
10. Additional power boxes on event floor ...$100-100,000
11. Loading dock expansion to include additional
lighting and storage .$100,000
12. Concourse lighting ..$250,000
13. Upgrading power capabilities in concourse $100,000
14. Upgrading power in the ticket office ..$50,000
15. Providing additional power to the green rooms, etc ...$50,000
Total $12.8-17.3 million
It should be noted however that this assessment does not assist Roberts in capturing
revenue which should come to this facility. Based upon our review the building is
currently missing opportunities to raise significant revenues. Our judgment of the
revenue loss on the existing facility is set forth in the following table.
1. Suite revenue .. .$150,000
2. Advertising revenue .$600,000-800,000
3. Premium seating such as club seats or loges ...$50,000
4. Party suites and other group sales and
promotional opportunities ...$400,000
5. Concession and merchandising sales ..$200,000-350,000
Total $1.4 million -1,750,000
In addition to these specific revenue losses the size of the building as it exists today dampens the demand for basketball tickets for the University of Evansville. That is, because the building is substantially larger than the average turn out for a U of E basketball game there is no incentive to purchase tickets early or to purchase season tickets. A smaller venue would be advantageous to the University s effort to fill the house. Also, it is increasingly the case that older venues are trying to sell naming rights to generate additional funds. We believe that it is very doubtful that Roberts Stadium could be renamed and if it is, the revenue generated from the sale of the naming rightswould be very modest.
The second assessment or Assessment Related To Improvement focused on the
structural changes necessary in order to bring the building to a first class state of the art status. The table below identifies the major areas which would have to be changed in order to accomplish this result.
1. Increase Size of Event Floor $40-50 million
2. Ad permanent ice .$1.4 million
3. Increase concourse size $3 million
4. Improve rigging capacity .$9-9.2 million
5. Supplement and change truck docks $1-2 million
6. New seating $400-500,000
7. New scoreboard system .$1.5-3 million
8. ADA compliance ...$3-5 million
9. Advertising facilities .$1.1-1.4 million
10. New concession equipment . ..$1.5 million
Total ..$61,900,000 75,000,000
In addition to these major structural changes many of the items included in the status quo analysis would also have to be done should renovation be considered the prime option. A number of items included in the status quo scenario would also have to be accomplished during the course of the major renovation. This would increase the bottomline cost of renovation to bring the facility up to modern standards to approximately $89.9 million. In our judgment, it does not make any sense just to proceed with the status quo improvements. If renovation were to take place at least a significant number of the structural elements should be accomplished. Thus, our assessment is that the expenditure range for doing renovation would run from a low of $38.2 million to a high of $89.9 million. We do not think that such an expenditure can be justified for a building which is already 52 years old.
As you can see, indeed it would cost close to $90 million to renovate Roberts Stadium..... AS AN ARENA! The problem is, we're not talking about renovating Roberts Stadium as an arena. That idea went out the door when the new downtown arena broke ground ( which I support).
What I am proposing is placing a botanical garden, an indoor waterpark, an indoor recreational center, etc, etc inside Roberts Stadium, not an arena. If you look at my 8 ideas, none of them will need a wider loading dock, a stronger roof, more restrooms to become ADA compliant, or a new scoreboard. Thus, this study DOES NOT prove that there are no viable alternatives for Roberts Stadium. As I noted in a previous post, I have a well known group who is willing to study ideas like the 8 I have given for Roberts Stadium.
I'm not saying converting Roberts Stadium into whatever we want it to be will be free. It will cost money no matter which idea we go with. However, the money it will cost to install a botanical garden, an indoor waterpark, or a recreational center will mostly come from the materials needed to construct that specific project which would be needed if it were being built somewhere else. I also believe we can get the private sector involved if we convert it to something like an indoor waterpark.
When you hear Half Truths such as " It's either Roberts Stadium or the new arena," " It will cost close to $90 million to renovate Roberts Stadium," or " We don't know of anyone willing to renovate Roberts Stadium," just remember that these statements are nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
The sky is NOT falling in on Roberts Stadium!
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