A Town With Two Arenas But Only 1/10th Of Evansville's Population

(www.aboutcandybarwrappers.com)

We've been told over and over that Evansville isn't large enough for two arenas. We are led to believe that only big cities such as Houston, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles can have two venues. In an earlier post, I talked about and proved that this theory is a lie...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/05/small-and-mid-sized-cities-can-save.html

One town that I think speaks volumes about our situation here is Hershey, Pennsylvania. Most people associate Hershey, PA with chocolate, and indeed chocolate is what pays the bills for the city. It is popularly called "Chocolatetown, USA," and is also referred to as "The Sweetest Place on Earth."

But only a small minority of those living outside of Hershey are familiar with the current Hershey sports industry and its history. Although the town only has 12,771 residents, there are two arenas that call Hershey home. One of these arenas is an old, historic, and legendary facility, the other one is a state-of-art, new, and shiny facility. Let's take a look at the historic facility first...

Hersheypark Arena

(www.hersheypa.com)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hersheypark_Arena

Hersheypark Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The arena has a seating capacity, for hockey, of 7,286 people and in excess of 8,000, including standing room. Built in 1936, it was originally known as the Hershey Sports Arena.

It was home to the Hershey Bears, of the AHL, who moved to the Giant Center in 2002, but still use it as their practice facility. It also played host to some NHL exhibition games and hosted 18 Calder Cup finals and three AHL All-Star games.

Today, it is the home rink for the Lebanon Valley College and the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania ice hockey teams, as well as the Hershey JR Bears, a youth team sponsored by the Bears organization. On most weekends during the fall and winter months, the rink is open to the public for ice skating.

The second sport at the arena was basketball. On March 2, 1962, Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain recorded a record-setting 100 points in a NBA game against the New York Knicks.

It hosted the PIAA basketball and wrestling championships, and it also served as the home of the Hershey Impact, a National Professional Soccer League team from 1988–1991.

Annually, it hosts part of the Music in the Parks competition. It has also hosted the Ice Capades, Disney on Ice, professional boxing, tennis competitions, and the fifth WWF In Your House pay-per-view in 1995.

On October 13, 1953, the arena also hosted an extravagant birthday celebration for President Dwight D. Eisenhower whose farm and "weekend White House" was located in nearby Gettysburg.

Now let's take a look at Hershey's new state-of-the-art arena...

Giant Center

(www.whiting-turner.com/)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Center

The Giant Center is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It is home to the Hershey Bears ice hockey team, the longest-existing member of the American Hockey League.

Additionally, professional lacrosse was added in the form of the Hershey Haymakers, a member of the North American Lacrosse League, in 2011. Giant Center replaced the Hersheypark Arena as the Bears' home venue in 2002.

The Giant Center is owned by the Derry Township Industrial and Commercial Development Authority, as much of the money for its construction was provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is operated by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company, with the naming rights owned by the Giant-Carlisle grocery store chain based in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

In addition to Bears games, the Giant Center also hosts an annual concert series and attracts many well-known entertainers. The first performance at the arena was by Cher and has since continued to host a wide variety of popular acts, including American Idol Live! and the Harlem Globetrotters. In 2003, Giant Center held the WWE's Unforgiven.

The Giant Center also hosted the Road to Victory rally for Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain, and his running mate, Sarah Palin, on October 28, 2008.

Obviously, their Giant Center is comparable to our Ford Center, and their Hersheypark Arena is comparable to our Roberts Stadium. Let's take a look at some of the comparisons that I find to be interesting/ironic...

1. Population at the 2000 census- Hershey: 12,771 while Evansville: 121,582.

2. Capacity- Roberts Stadium's currently (if floor isn't raised): Roughly 12,500; Hersheypark Arena: 7,286 + standing room.

3. Capacity- Ford Center: concert: 11,000, basketball: 10,000, hockey: 9,000; Giant Center: 12,500 for in-the-round concerts, 10,500 for hockey.

4. Construction Costs - Giant Center: $65 million for the building, $95 million including roads, parking lots and infrastructures (2002 dollars); Ford Center: $127.5 million.

5. Luxury Suites- Giant Center: 40 Luxury Suites 688 Club Seats; Ford Center:
16 16-person suites, One 24-person suite, Two eight-person mini suites, Two 10-person mini suites, 92 main concourse loge seats, 516 club seats with access to suite-level clubs

6. Square Footage- Giant Center: 306,000; Ford Center: 278,000

7. Reuse Tenants- Hersheypark Arena: Practice facility, youth hockey, college hockey, public ice skating, musical shows; Roberts Stadium: ???

Basically, we are getting outplayed by a city that is 1/10th the size of our city. Like Evansville, many Hershey residents criticized Milton Hershey when he built the 7,000 seat Hersheypark Arena in Hershey when the town's population was only 2,000...

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/08/the_old_barn_hersheypark_arena.html

But now we see who was right and it was Milton Hershey. Now, Hershey has only grown to 12,771 residents yet now supports two arenas. This has only been possible because of Hershey's smart planning and aggressive building campaigns.

Milton Hershey is the perfect example of how government spending and entrepreneurship should go hand-in-hand. Hershey's chocolate business had finally gotten off the ground in the early 20th century after it had failed in Lancaster. Instead of complaining about taxes, community involvement, and capital improvement projects, Milton Hershey decided to build an arena he knew would give both his business and his hometown national recognition.

Like his chocolate company, Hershey's plan worked. It turns out, Hersheypark Arena was just the beginning. Because of the many visitors the arena drew to the city, Hotel Hershey was thriving. Both the hotel and arena played a big role in exposing the American public to both Hershey's chocolate and Hershey, PA. It has also allowed Hershey's entertainment company to prosper.

Today, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company owns and/or runs the following...

Hershey Entertainment Group


Hersheypark
Hersheypark Arena
Hersheypark Stadium
GIANT Center
ZOOAMERICA North American Wildlife Park
The Star Pavilion at Hersheypark Stadium
Hershey Theatre
Hershey Bears American Hockey League Team


Hershey Resorts Group

Hotel Hershey
The Spa at The Hotel Hershey
The Jewlery at The Hotel Hershey
Circular Dining Room - Fine American Contemorary Cuisine
Iberian Lounge
Trevi 5 - Authentically Modern Italian Grill
Harvest - Genuine American Cuisine
Hershey Lodge
The Bear's Den - Casual Sports-themed restaurant
Hershey Grill - Contemporary Cuisine with upscale casual ambiance
Lebbie Lebkicher's - Classic and specialty breakfast items
The Forebay - Premium steaks, seafood and pasta served in a cozy loft setting
Hershey Country Club
Hershey Highmeadow Campground
Houlihan's
Devon Seafood Grill - Premium Seafood
Cocoa Beanery - Specialty coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, pastries and lunch items
Cafe Zooka - Gourmet sandwiches, paninis, soups, salads, coffees and exotic chocolate desserts


Commercial Group

Hershey Nursery
Hershey Laundry

If Milton Hershey would have been a naysayer, or an entrepreneur only and not an urban planner as well, NONE of this would have happened. For this reason, we need to do the same thing here in Evansville. By investing in our city, we will be investing in our businesses who inturn invest in our town as well. We need to do the following...

1. We need to make sure the Ford Center is a success so that businesses around downtown Evansville are a success just like Milton Hershey did in Pennsylvania.

2. We need to save Roberts Stadium and use it for mid-sized concerts, trade shows, youth sports tournaments, indoor football, basketball, and soccer just like Hershey Entertainment does with Hersheypark Arena.

3. We need to build our ball fields project at Kleymeyer Park so that they can boost historic Bosse Field and the surrounding neighborhood. It will also connect the area to downtown Evansville just like Hershey Entertainment does with Hershey Stadium, Hersheypark, and the Giant Center.

4. We need to use ALL our capital improvement projects to promote our local industries. Personally, I think a windmill monument is the perfect thing we can build for our new arrival GBT...

http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-windmill-tower-would-separate.html

If you look at Hershey Entertainment's website...

http://www.hersheypa.com/things_to_do/venues/index.php

You will see that they are running like a well-oiled machine. All of their facilities, both old and new are cross-promoting each other. All of their facilities are still successful and drawing large crowds. Most importantly, all of their facilities are boosting the city of Hershey.

Over the course of time, Evansville greats such as Benjamin Bosse and Hank Roberts have given us great facilities to boost our city. Shouldn't we be using these facilities to promote our town, our businesses, and our way of life as well?

Evansville is TEN TIMES the size of Hershey, PA, it's about time we acted like it. SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!

Fire The Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority

(blogs.sfweekly.com)

For the past year and change, Roberts Stadium has been managed by SMG while being maintained by the Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority, a branch in city government.

The move to switch the maintenance duties of Roberts Stadium from SMG to the Building Authority has been controversial since day 1 and rightfully so. In the beginning, this was the reason we were given for the switch (bolding has been added by me)...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/mar/12/evansville-hopes-to-pare-costs-with-new-smg-deal/

Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel's office said Friday the city expects to save more than $300,000 annually in personnel costs with an agreement to shift maintenance management of the city-owned facilities from city personnel and management firm SMG Inc. to the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Building Authority. "This arrangement with the Building Authority and the creation of a new facility team will allow us to provide the same level of maintenance at a reduced cost."

Yet now we have been given a completely different reason for the change...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/feb/06/how-smg-struck-out/

The Building Authority's April 19 takeover of maintenance tasks at Roberts Stadium formed the basis for the second strike against SMG. Taking the offensive against SMG after the Redevelopment Commission delayed its arena contract vote last week, Building Authority General Manager Dave Rector issued a four-page memo detailing the issues. "When we first walked in, probably the thing that just struck me the most was the total dismal condition that Roberts Stadium was in," Rector said afterward.

So when the news first broke, we were given this great story that the city was making this move for cost cutting purposes, but when the city made a controversial decision to hire Venuworks for the new arena, we were then told it was because SMG did such a terrible job. This reason makes no sense whatsoever. From the link above...

"The repair and maintenance budget set by SMG for 2010 was $90,550," he said, providing supporting documentation. "SMG expended $69,658.25 and the Building Authority, after assuming maintenance responsibility, expended $6,045.63. Combined, this is $14,846.12 under the budgeted amount."

If things were that bad at Roberts Stadium, why was only $6,045.63 added to the maintenance budget? And why did mayor Weinzapfel and Aces basketball coach Marty Simmons write letters of praise about SMG? And why did Dave Rector himself say everything was ok?...

http://city-countyobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SMG_Response_Observer.pdf

And now almost a year and a half into the Building Authority running Roberts Stadium, we were treated to these quotes...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jul/30/cost-of-roberts/

Rector led the tour back outside and past the same group of fans waiting to buy Kenny Chesney tickets, which apparently will be the last big show for the facility. The group of fans — and most on the tour — was oblivious to the uneven concrete that had become dangerously unstable due to age and settling. On the other side of the building, Rector pointed out to an entire pathway leading to a service entrance had been closed due to settling as well. Aside from Roberts own inevitable spiral into disrepair, Rector said the $1.2 million demolition cost was far too high.

Instead of fixing these problems that were supposedly unimaginable, and instead of fixing problems that have arose over the past year and a half, Building Authority General Manager Dave Rector decides to lead the Courier & Press on a tour where he simply points at all of these problems and then recommends demolition instead of fixing any of them. How many other companies can leave a building in shambles and then simply recommend demolition?

Even worse is the fact that the parking lot has been left to rot by the Building Authority. A few weeks ago, I went and took pictures myself of the massive hole created by the broken concrete... (click on photos to enlarge)







As you can see, if you look far enough in the hole between the two slabs of concrete, you can probably see China or Japan. And if you look at the barrels and construction pylons around the hole, you will clearly be able to see that they are from the Building Authority. Therefore, the Building Authority has been fully aware of this problem for some time now AND ISN'T FIXING IT! Yet, Rector told this to the C&P during his interview in the above link...

"You see, the fixtures in here are old, so it's hard to find parts. But we'll still need to get it fixed before the next show comes through — we can't let it go."

You can't let it go? Then why hasn't the parking lot been fixed? And why hasn't any papers been filed with the insurance companies because both the parking lot and the roof (as well as the pumps) were fixed in 2002 and 2005?...

http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&subsectionID=276&articleID=39599

After the Executive Inn was demolished this year, crews left the rubble until the city committed to paying them. We were told this by DMD Director Tom Barnett...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jul/13/no-headline---ev_demofolo/

DMD Director Tom Barnett said although a fence encircles the roughly two-story, city block-long stretch of twisted metal, brick and concrete, it still poses a danger to the community. "I don't know about you, but I used to climb fences when I was a kid," Barnett said. "I really don't think that's a safe site for anyone."

When the former site of the Executive Inn is considered unsafe (despite a fence around it), an Emergency Demolition Order is signed. When Roberts Stadium has a massive chunk of parking lot forming a huge hole at the entrance to the arena, we get orange construction barrels that have sat out there for months, and months, and months even though concert goers have come very close to this hole many times. It just doesn't add up. The truth is, the Building Authority is assembled more for political reasons than it is for taking care of our buildings. David Mosby proved this in 2002...

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-14124497.html

Democratic County Commissioner David Mosby said he lobbied to have Bettye Lou Jerrel and Steve Martin removed from their positions on the Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority's Board of Directors.

"I wanted to work with some friendly faces," Mosby said Monday.

That's right, Commissioner Mosby (a Democrat) wanted to remove two Republicans from the Building Authority because he was looking for, "friendly faces." What a bunch of bull!

Today, we are still seeing these traits with our Building Authority as they follow the same beliefs as our mayor. As long as these political ties exist, we will never be able to get a fair outcome for Roberts Stadium. Over the past year, we've watched...

Jasper bring their gymnasium back from the dead (6th paragraph down) http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/sep/10/cheers-jeers-and-tears/

The Kunkel Group bring the old Knights of Columbus Hall back from the dead http://activerain.com/blogsview/983042/new-assisted-living-home-will-be-built-on-knights-of-columbus-property

The Old Post Office Will Be Renovated
http://www.14news.com/story/14387830/developer-still-believes-in-old-post-office

Yet it's been excuse after excuse with our Building Authority. In fact, every time something happens with Roberts Stadium, the Courier & Press "magically" finds out and goes and video tapes it (Gee I wonder how they found out!). Judging from the caption of the video, Dave Rector was Johnny-On-The-Spot to give them a quote...

http://www.courierpress.com/videos/detail/roberts-stadium-floor-floods

The important thing to remember about the Roberts Stadium "flood" is that the cost to repair this problem was $3,000, a far cry from the $1.2 million the ECVB had budgeted to demolish the venue (it's significantly less than the phantom $200,000 estimate we were given as well). And if we do the correct thing and raise the floor so that it is wide enough for indoor soccer, basketball, and football, THE PROBLEM WILL BE ELIMINATED!

I had a flood in my basement ( I will be talking about this in a future post) two years ago. It completely wiped out most of my possessions down there. Does this mean that I should have demolished it? Of course not!

As if all of this isn't bad enough, the Building Authority has now decided to put Roberts Stadium on lock down...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/sep/19/no-headline---ev_roberts/

"We're going around and changing the locks on the doors because after all of these years who knows how many keys are out there amongst everybody," said Dave Rector, the general manager of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Building Authority.

If you travel to Gainesville, Florida, be sure to stop by Ben-Hill Griffin Stadium, also known as, " The Swamp." In the spring of 2009, I visited The Swamp... Like many other ballparks, arenas, and stadiums around the country, The Swamp is open to the public as a park on non-gamedays. From dusk to dawn, you can walk, jog, or run around the legendary 88,000 + stadium...







The only thing the University of Florida requests is that you stay off the field. Instead of replicating Gainesville, Florida, our Building Authority appears to be trying to replicate Nevada...

(www.info-quest.org)

(Note: I wouldn't recommend turning my sound all the way up during this video!)





Roberts Stadium will turn 55 years old this October 28th. This great facility has watched decade after decade of residents grow up around it. Many stars, athletes, and celebrities have come and gone from Roberts Stadium, but of them all, only Roberts Stadium has withstood the test of time.

It is unacceptable for Roberts Stadium to be used as a political pawn to push political beliefs that don't even make sense. There is no reason whatsoever why Roberts Stadium cannot function as mid-sized arena. There is also no reason whatsoever why city hall cannot cooperate in keeping Roberts Stadium going instead of playing needless games time after time. Sooner or later, problems such as the Roberts Stadium parking lot are going to have to be resolved regardless of what happens to Roberts Stadium.

It's very simple Evansville-Vanderburgh Building Authority, DO YOUR JOB. Roberts Stadium is too valuable to play politics with. If you can't understand that, then maybe you need to hear the two words Donald Trump gives us every time "The Apprentice" comes on...

(buzzpal.wordpress.com)

It's Amazing How Far We Have Fallen Since Mayor Roberts

(mbawrites.com)

Last night, I attended the Meet The Candidates Night event at the United Neighborhoods Of Evansville meeting. I would first like to thank UNOE for putting on the event. This was my first UNOE event and I am very impressed with the structure of their organization as well as their goals, beliefs, and commitment to Evansville. I think UNOE is just what we need to fix the many problems that exist around town.

In regards to the candidates speeches, I came away with the impression that if we could have captured all the hot air in that room last night we would never need to pay a Vectren heating bill again.

Over 50 years ago, our city government, our political leaders, and our city use to stand for something. Mayor Hank Roberts came to office with a purpose and a plan, not with a goal of padding his resume or getting a job promotion. His "Plan of Progress" was widely successful and is still paying dividends for our city. With his plan, he gave life to Roberts Stadium and preserved the Soldiers & Sailors Coliseum.

But in the end, it cost Roberts his job. It only took one term as mayor before the naysayers had finally overwhelmed him. Yet, when everything was said and done, it was Roberts, not the naysayers, who Evansville remembers and misses the most. Shortly before his death 25 years ago, many local residents visited him and brought him cards during the holidays...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=678353

Roberts' goal was not to become mayor because he wanted a job, he wanted to improve his own career, or he wanted money & fame. Rather, his one and only goal was clearly to get things done. He knew that building Roberts Stadium would not be popular until he would be long gone from office. He also knew he would take a lot of heat for not bulldozing the coliseum over. But Roberts said damn the torpedoes and got it done. If he would not have done that, Evansville would probably be a smaller town than Newburgh today.

Now, our city has fallen victim to a strong and unrelentless pall. At last nights meeting, there were indeed some bright spots. Of the 5 candidates on the right of this blog, 3 of them were asked about Roberts Stadium specifically (if I remember correctly). All 3 candidates, Dr. Adams, Al Lindsey, and Lon Walters reiterated that they were fully behind saving Roberts Stadium. I was glad to see Lon remind the crowd that the correct step to take is to place indoor soccer, football, basketball, youth sports, and trade shows in there for which I have identified the proper investor for.

As for some of the remaining candidates, all I can say is WOW. I'm now thoroughly convinced they just don't get it. These candidates, who decided to keep reminding us that demolition should be left open as an option, kept telling us over and over that they wanted to see the best outcome for the taxpayer.

This may sound good on the surface to those who don't do any research on the candidates, but in reality it is just a bunch of fluff and I will tell you why.

Of those who brought up demolition and converting the land to a park, did any of them give a price estimate for this park or any other alternative project?

NO

Of those who did not give a specific plan for Roberts Stadium, did they get an estimate for raising the floor (which I have and it's $400,000-$500,000)?

NO

Of those who did not give a specific plan for Roberts Stadium, are they aware and have they began exploring the fact that the Indiana Pacers are looking to create their own NBDL team?

NO

Of those who did not give a specific plan for Roberts Stadium, have they researched the leads I have compiled which include an investor with 2 + teams, connections to mid size concerts, and youth sports?

NO

Note: Lon Walters has done this and even brought the Courier & Press article where I announced this with him. Here is the article for those interested...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jun/19/roberts-stadium-deserves-judgment-from-fair/?partner=RSS

Of those who said a park on the Roberts Stadium lot might be better, did any of them say how they were going to keep their new park from reproducing in Wesselman Woods' virgin forest?

NO

Basically, if any of these candidates would have really cared about finding a solution for Roberts Stadium, they would have done just a little bit of research on Roberts Stadium. Yet they did not and now claim they are in it for the taxpayer? If they were really in it for the taxpayer, wouldn't they already be investigating the leads on Roberts Stadium that would save the city from having to demolish this legendary facility? Wouldn't they at least like to know that demolition is a zero-sum game because anything else on the lot will cost just as much?

This is the type of mindset that has destroyed our town for almost 50 years now. We are given candidates who are seeking office for their careers, not because they have plans, visions, and ideas for Evansville. And when they are cornered on this, they claim they are in it for the taxpayer even though these candidates have put up zero opposition to our county wasting over $100 million on roads to nowhere while our EVSC budget is getting close to $200 million. In fact, some of these candidates are proud of their support for these wasteful roads that will do nothing more than create urban sprawl.

The scariest and most disappointing statement I heard last night came when Commissioner Winnecke said he had no specific capital improvement projects in mind. I found this to be extremely disappointing given that Commissioner Winnecke has the 2001 downtown master plan in his jobs plan and high speed rail in his transportation plan.

While refusing to spend money now on capital improvement projects (such as Roberts Stadium) may seem to be a good answer to those who are worried about taxes, the truth is, all it does is cost both our city and our taxpayers who will end up deferring these projects to a 30 year bond that will cost us even more with interest...

http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-penny-pinchers-are-driving-us-into.html

After last night, I am left wishing mayor Roberts was here, just like Hank Williams does with Abe Lincoln...




If we are going to save Roberts Stadium so that future generations can see an icon of Evansville's great history, we need to elect candidates that are genuinely serious about Roberts Stadium. We've seen candidates tell us a thousand times that they would form a committee if elected, but the clock is ticking on Roberts Stadium right now. We can't afford to lose golden opportunities such as having a NBDL team affiliated with the Indiana Pacers.

You shouldn't have to be elected to give an effort to save Roberts Stadium. I have done got an estimate for raising the floor, lined up one investor with multiple teams, and have identified how we can make the ball fields work at Kleymeyer Park.

Over 50 years ago, Hank Roberts came into the mayors office with a plan, a vision, and a goal for improving Evansville. It's about time our local leaders did this today!

1 Year Ago Today It All Began

(hedonia.seantimberlake.com)

One year ago today, September 21, 2010, the battle to save Roberts Stadium began with this blog. 13,734 viewers and 365 days later, we've made tremendous progress towards winning that battle.

I can't thank you the viewers of this blog enough for all of your support. Since this blog began, the overwhelming amount of opposition to building the ball fields at Wesselman Park has all but sealed their fate. Without this opposition, we would have been stuck with 8 boring and dull ball fields on the site of our historic and legendary Roberts Stadium.

I am extremely confident we will clear all remaining hurdles that are left in this battle. We have cleared the ball fields hurdle but still must clear the hurdle of getting a renovation plan adopted by city hall.

For this reason, it is extremely important that we put the right people in office for the next round of battles. On the right hand side of this blog, you will see the candidates who have given me a verbal commitment that they will give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium.

To see this project to the finish, I am going all in on both saving Roberts Stadium and building the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park. For too many years, our city has refused to take care of existing buildings, existing neighborhoods, and existing infrastructure while expanding with costly, inefficient, and dull buildings, neighborhoods, and infrastructure. We cannot keep this trend going. If our city residents cannot take a stand against these terrible practices this time around, they may never be able too.

With all of that being said, I ask you the supporters of Roberts Stadium to keep this momentum going. Keep emailing both councils, the ECVB, the mayor, the Parks Dept, the Building Authority, any candidate running for office, the Courier & Press, and anyone else you think will make a difference in this project.

One year ago today, the qwest to save Roberts Stadium began. Let's make sure that one year from now it's MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

(janjanadventure.blogspot.com)

Let's Talk About Omaha, Nebraska Commissioner Winnecke

(www.onlineatlas.us)

For those who watched last week's mayoral debate, you may recall a certain specific incident during the debate.

About midway through the debate, Mr. Rick Davis proposed converting Roberts Stadium into a natatorium. Commissioner Winnecke responded by saying, " I've got two words: Omaha, Nebraska." Commissioner Winnecke then went on to say that Omaha built a natatorium that now costs several million dollars to maintain. He then said that this is further proof that there is a good chance reinventing Roberts Stadium might be too costly.

During the debate, I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat as I was one of the camera operators for WNIN. As soon as Commissioner Winnecke brought up Omaha, I have been shocked ever since. Why would anyone not want to be like Omaha? Why would Omaha be an example that would support demolishing Roberts Stadium?

Ironically enough, one week and one year ago, I was in Omaha, Nebraska. I decided to take the 9 + hour drive to the Cornhusker State because it was the last baseball game ever that was played at their historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium...



From my Omaha experience, the only mistake that I believe Omaha is making is their decision to tear down Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Yes, their zoo will benefit, but the district will not. While the College World Series moves to TD Ameritrade Park, the Omaha Royals (now Storm Chasers) moved out to the county. And just this past week, Omaha found out that they will not be able to place an independent league team in TD Ameritrade Park due to contract conflicts. OOPS!

Besides that one hiccup, Omaha is rolling. Situated on the Nebraska/Iowa border, Omaha is working hand-in-hand with Council Bluffs, Iowa to take the region to the tops of the US population rankings. Omaha is doing really good things including the following...

(click on photos to enlarge)

1. Taking advantage of their railroad heritage...



2. Taking on new capital improvement projects...

3. Preserving and improving a historic part of town...







4. Constructing a botanical garden...

(photo credit: eventective.com)

5. Improving their zoo...



In the past two decades, Omaha has grown by leaps and bounds by doing the right things. I honestly do not know what specific natatorium Commissioner Winnecke is talking about, but my closest guess would have to be HPER Swimming Pool...

http://www.omavs.com/sports/2008/6/5/hper_pool.aspx

HPER Swimming Pool serves as the home of the University of Nebraska-Omaha swim team. It was the site of the Midwestern Collegiate Championships. It also is the premier host to various conference tournaments and meets, as well as invitationals for various swimming organizations. Rarely is the facility not being used.

Regardless of the facility, it really doesn't make sense to consider a natatorium in Omaha to be a failure or a waste of money even if it costs $3 million + to maintain. The reason being is that Omaha is the premier site for USA Swimming. In 2008, Omaha served as the home city for the Olympic Swimming Trials and will be again in 2012 which will see Michael Phelps come to town.

In 2008, over 95,000 tickets were sold to out-of-state visitors, and the event was one of three events that brought in over $29 million in revenue to the city of Omaha as well as $97 million in international media exposure...

http://www.omahasports.org/archives/135

With all of that being said, I do not believe a natatorium is the best possible solution for Roberts Stadium (although it is better than demolition). I firmly believe that Roberts Stadium's floor should be raised with indoor soccer, NBDL basketball, indoor football, mid-sized concerts and trade shows, and youth sports as tenants.

There is one more facility in Omaha that replicates this EXACT scenario. That facility is the Omaha Civic Auditorium...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_Civic_Auditorium

It is amazing how similar this facility is to Roberts Stadium. Built in 1954, the Omaha Civic Auditorium lost its main tenant the Creighton Blue Jays (who are in the same conference as the Aces) as well as Omaha's premier concerts when the Qwest Center opened up in 2003. So what does the facility host today?

Today, it is home to the Omaha Beef indoor football team. It is also used for trade shows, concerts, smaller conventions, and local graduations. On 5 February 2009, the Junior-A United States Hockey League announced on its website that the Omaha Lancers franchise would be moving to the Civic Auditorium from the Mid-America Center across the river in Council Bluffs.

It was announced on August 18, 2010 that the MISL is expanding into Omaha starting with the 2010-11 season. The team, tentatively called Omaha Vipers, will play at the Civic Auditorium.

Bingo! Not one of the above teams were able to afford the Qwest Center (now CenturyLink Center) due to its enormous size and costs. With 2 arenas and a convention center all within walking distance, Omaha has cornered the market for all sports and events of all sizes in their region. And if you take one walk around the district, you will see just how successful Omaha is becoming because of these three investments.

This is exactly what we need to do here in Evansville as I've already identified an investor who has 2 of these teams with enough connections to fill in the rest of the dates with a 3rd team, concerts, and other miscellaneous events.

The writing is on the wall and the solution couldn't be any simpler. This problem shouldn't be too hard for city hall to figure out, yet it is and I just don't understand.

If you're looking for the solution to solve the Roberts Stadium dilemma Commissioner Winnecke, I've got two words for you....... OMAHA, NEBRASKA!

(legendsofamerica.com)

My "Stadium Journey" Tells Us A Lot About What Evansville Can Become

(stadiumjourney.com)

This past month, I have been blessed to have been selected to be the Ohio Valley Correspondent for the website StadiumJourney.com. As a correspondent, I will be visiting ballparks, arenas, and stadiums in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. I will analyze each sports venue inside, outside, and all around the neighborhood to give other sports fans an idea of what to expect when they decide to visit the venue themselves. You can follow my reviews here...

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/profiles/Jordan_Baer/

Ironically enough, the first venue I reviewed was Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Kentucky. For those who don't know, the Bowling Green Hot Rods were suppose to be the Evansville Waves...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/06/now-you-will-know-rest-of-story.html

Evansville messed up big time by not building the Waves a ballpark. On my way to Bowling Green, I made sure to drive by the site where Evansville's ballpark should have been built. As it was back in 2003, the land once earmarked to be Evansville's new ballpark still remains a boring and dull parking lot as well as an adult entertainment store. As a result, only minimal development surrounding Casino Aztar exists near the land.

On the flip side, Bowling Green is thriving around their ballpark. Here is the official review I did for the ballpark and neighborhood...

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/bowling-green-ballpark-s163/

It still amazes me that a city with exactly half of Evansville's population could build a ballpark that nice and a thriving neighborhood around it. But then again, it really doesn't surprise me. The attitude and mindset of business owners and residents in Bowling Green is 180 degrees different than Evansville's.

Before the game, I asked resident after resident, business owner after business owner if they approved of Bowling Green building the ballpark and would they do it again. Every single time, the answer was YES! For this reason, downtown Bowling Green is well ahead of downtown Evansville in making progress.

Roberts Stadium

I also believe that we can learn a lot about Roberts Stadium from the founder of StadiumJourney.com ( who has been tremendous in helping me get started), Mr. Paul Swaney who visited Roberts Stadium and gave us an unbiased opinion of what a traveling sports fan thinks of Roberts Stadium. Here is his review...

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/roberts-municipal-stadium-s793/#official

Here is how he rated Roberts Stadium...

Food & Beverage- 3/5
Atmosphere- 4/5
Neighborhood- 3/5
Fans- 3/5
Access- 4/5
Return on Investment- 5/5
Extras- 3/5

This translates into a 3.6 out of 5 star rating. I also found some of Paul's comments to be very interesting such as...

"Whatever you do at Roberts Stadium, spend some time walking the concourse and perusing these displays."

"The overall draw here is the sense of history and tradition that you get walking around, talking to fans, and just keeping your eyes open."

"There aren’t a ton of options before or after a game, and even less that could be considered walkable, but there are a couple of places that I can recommend."

"Bathrooms are large and clean, and you won’t have to deal with lines unless it’s a packed house."

"The story of the tragedy of 1977, really touched a nerve for me, and I appreciate the respectful honor that the university gives that sad event. I hope that they’ll continue to do so in the new facility."

"The history of the basketball program, and basketball in southern Indiana in general is a huge part of the experience as well. Championship trophies in the house, even if they are Division II, are something special, and there is clearly pride over these past accomplishments."

So what can we learn from these comments? Several things including...

1. Out-of-town sports fans do travel to Evansville for Roberts Stadium's history which puts, "Heads In Beds."

2. Evansville has the opportunity to continue attracting these tourists by keeping Roberts Stadium and renovating it so that it pays tribute to its rich history.

3. The bathrooms aren't as bad as the Building Authority wants you to believe.

4. The ball fields won't work on the lot as tourists don't want to travel more than a handful of blocks for retail, food, and other amenities.

5. Being in the state of Indiana, we have the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that we are in basketball country, especially since Evansville native and Roberts Stadium architect Ralph Legeman patented the Indiana fieldhouse design.

Bosse Field

Mr. Paul Swaney also visited Bosse Field, and once more, he gave us an unbiased opinion of the ballpark and surrounding neighborhood. Here is his review...

http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/bosse-field-s200/

For Bosse Field, Paul rated it 4.1 out 5 stars and gave us the following quotes...

"Surrounded by Garvin Park to the north and Main Street to the south, you are in a great position to stroll through downtown or walk from the park to the ballpark."

"History hangs in the air, and that zen feeling that sometimes comes with watching baseball overtakes you as you settle in to your seat."

"Bosse Field should be on every baseball lovers' list of must-see venues. I absolutely love the minor quirks and the ability to visualize the past within the red brick walls."

"A depressed little downtown area still offers some quality should you be looking for some post or pre-game food or drinks. Right across the street is a dive of a place called the Hickory Pit Stop. To be completely honest, the only reason I ventured inside was because I had to use the bathroom."

"Further down Main Street is Turoni's Pizzeria & Brewery, a place I highly recommend."

"For this time machine trip, I would have gladly paid more. "

"It was also rewarding to see how many kids seemed to be hanging out around the park, playing catch, hitting balls, and just generally being part of the baseball atmosphere. There are Little League fields within Garvin Park, so that just adds to the baseball jubilation."

Like he did with his Roberts Stadium review, Paul's comments speak volumes about what Evansville can be for the traveling sports fan. To me, the following are very obvious things we can learn from Paul's comments...

1. We must do a better job with the district around Bosse Field. To have the third oldest ballpark in the nation surrounded by run down buildings is unacceptable.

2. Kleymeyer Park is THE PERFECT location for our ball fields project because of the districts' rich baseball history.

3. We must do everything we can to make sure Bosse Field stays intact when we build a new ballpark eventually.

4. The ball fields and Bosse Field would attract tourists all the way down Main Street to our future taxpayer funded hotel and arena.

The important thing to remember here is that we have a golden opportunity to fix multiple problems with one project. Never before have we had the opportunity to renovate Roberts Stadium, rebuild the Bosse Field district with the ball fields, and reconnect our downtown to nearby neighborhoods. We only get one chance at this so let's do it right.

A stadium journey can tell us everything we need to know about our town, and it's saying loud and clear: SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!

25 Years Ago Today Was One Of Evansville's Darkest Days

Twenty-five years ago today, former Evansville mayor Hank Roberts died in Regina Continuing Care Center. Personally, I don't think Evansville has suffered a bigger loss than that of Mayor Roberts. Evansville has never been the same and has never come close to recovering.

Born in 1897, Hank Roberts served in the Navy during World War I and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention for Indiana. From 1952 through 1955, Roberts served as mayor of Evansville where he was successful in making a lasting impact on the city in just one term.

You can read more about mayor Roberts here...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=678349

Of the 33 men who have served Evansville as mayor, mayor Roberts most closely aligns with my beliefs, goals, and opinions (Benjamin Bosse & Russ Lloyd Jr. are a close second). Mayor Roberts built Roberts Stadium as a part of his "Program of Progress." I find this program to be eerily similar to the MAPS program I am wanting Evansville to replicate from OKC...

http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/05/large-capital-improvement-projects-can.html

http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/08/if-next-mayor-wants-to-create-jobs-he.html

As you read in the article above the two links, no other mayor has been able to make as much progress as Roberts. In fact, during his tenure as mayor, Roberts also joined a, "Forward Evansville" committee with a local activist...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=943547

To keep tabs on his progressive programs, committees, and policies, Roberts kept a "scoreboard of progress" to make sure Evansville was on the right track. As usual, there were naysayers, penny pinchers, and those who were hellbent on stopping progress, but in the end it was Roberts who was correct...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville,_Indiana

From 1950 to 1960, Evansville's population rose from 128,636 to 141,543, a 10% gain. Most importantly, 1950 to 1960 has been the last time Evansville has gained residents instead of losing them. 8 years after Roberts left office, Evansville was making steady progress, but then the city took a nose dive in population and has never recovered.

So what happened? What did Evansville do that suddenly contributed to this turn of bad luck? The answer to those questions is simple: They gave up on mayor Roberts' vision of making progress.

Since 1955, no new quality of life venues such as a ballpark, stadium, or arena has been constructed (although this will change in 2 months), downtown has been left to die, and Evansville has failed to be on the cutting edge of any technologies. Our town has turned its back on progress and now demonizes any kind of spending on it.

And now they want to make it worse. They want to take away the pride of Evansville that mayor Roberts fought for. They want to erase all the progress that mayor Roberts achieved with Roberts Stadium. They want you to forget what Roberts Stadium is about. They don't want you to look at this arena and see the byproduct of good government.

They know every time someone sees Roberts Stadium they see progress, government unity, and a rich nostalgic history. Those are all things demolition supporters don't want you to believe. They would rather you line their pockets individually instead of building a sports arena as a community.

They would rather see a dying town continue to die so that they can live their urban sprawling life in the county without any worry about joining forces with the city, much less helping to build it back up. If they had their way, mayor Roberts would be the final mayor to achieve progress, and all of his accomplishments would be imploded.

Sorry demolition supporters, DON'T TREAD ON ME....





25 years later, we renew the battle that Hank Roberts took on. If we are ever going to reverse the direction that Evansville is heading in, we too must commit ourselves to getting Evansville moving forward, and that starts with saving Roberts Stadium. Roberts Stadium was built with the vision of mayor Roberts and we must not forget his progressive vision.

Today, we remember mayor Hank Roberts.

Sorry Commissioner Winnecke, I Hug Arenas Not Demolition

(illustrationsource.com) Last week, the Evansville mayoral debates kicked off with an event at Harrison High School. Let's take a look at some of the comments regarding Roberts Stadium... http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/aug/25/students-quiz-canidates/

On the fate of Roberts Stadium, Davis, again, said it would be a waste of taxpayer money to raze the 56-year-old building and that it could be converted into a replacement for the aging Lloyd Pool. Davis told the crowd it would cost $1 million to tear down Roberts. "I would rather we reinvent Roberts into something useful," he said.

It will cost more than a million to tear it down. The ECVB clearly got an estimate for $1.25 million that was rising to $1.5 million and then close to $2 million. It is extremely negligent for the city to think they will be able to get the cost down any cheaper by relying on selling materials that may not sell. Of course, they would love for us to have an Executive Inn 2 on the lot. If they can spend on demolition, they can spend on renovation.

But the first-ever specific estimate made to demolish the building submitted to the city on Aug. 19 by Klenck Co. cited a cost of $200,000.

As usual, the biasness is showing here. Wasn't Klenck the company that had to be called back to the old Executive Inn site by an Emergency Demolition Order? The fact that demolition supporters are quoting an estimate that was obtained almost an entire year from when their ball fields project was suppose to take place just shows how unorganized they are. The longer this goes, the bigger their fish stories will be.

Winnecke said he would not make any suggestions on how to repurpose the building until all possibilities had been vetted by engineers. But he also said demolition should remain an option. "We've got to get people to wrap their arms around the idea of demolition," Winnecke said.

This confirms the email I received from Commissioner Winnecke after I met with him last year...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-do-mayoral-candidates-stack-up-on.html

Obviously, demolition is Winnecke's preferred path which is 180 degrees different that Rick Davis. This makes you wonder just how serious a committee created by Winnecke would be. Would it really have the power to do anything or would it just be a red herring set up to make it look like the mayor himself did not demolish Roberts Stadium?

Let me be very clear, this post is not an attack on Commissioner Winnecke personally. There are a lot of corrupt and/or incompetent people that have served in our local government, Commissioner Winnecke isn't one of them. This post is aimed at Commissioner Winnecke's policy views which I find to be problematic in regards to Roberts Stadium and why I am endorsing Rick Davis for mayor.

The city of Evansville is in no mood to "wrap their arms around the idea of demolition." For 12 months now, I have been working to save Roberts Stadium. From day 1, the movement has only gotten stronger not weaker. Some of the success stories include...

1. Going door to door in the Roberts Stadium neighborhood. I went several times through several streets and never encountered one single person who supported demolition. This also goes for several other precincts around town where I walked for candidates who support saving Roberts Stadium. Not only did I never encounter a supporter of demolishing Roberts Stadium, I actually encountered several upon several residents who expressed their vocal support for keeping Roberts Stadium.

2. Last spring, I sold "Save Roberts Stadium" shirts at cost. This project was wildly successful as nearly 40 shirts were sold in 3 weeks. I donated the final shirt to the WNIN Channel 9 auction and it sold for $32 which is FOUR TIMES the value...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/04/thank-you-to-all-those-who-placed-bid.html

3. The letters in support of Roberts Stadium have increased. Over the past 12 months, more and more viewers of this blog have written to the Courier & Press, the mayor, the councils, the ECVB, and anyone else they thought would make a difference. It's always good to open up the paper and read more articles in support of Roberts Stadium.

Last year, demolition supporters and ball fields proponents thought they would succeed as they were in the driver's seat. Today, that just isn't the case. The Save Roberts Stadium movement has become a nation. And the last thing on the minds of those who support Roberts Stadium is demolition.

Five days after the debate, Commissioner Winnecke met with the Evansville-Area Trails Coalition. The coalition also met with Rick Davis last month (I made Rick's but missed Lloyd's). Once more, Roberts Stadium was brought up...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/aug/30/jobs-litter-on-winneckes-radar/

Questions from the audience quickly went to whether the Roberts Stadium site could be turned into a green property like a park. Winnecke said that unlike the suggestion of Davis, reinventing the facility into a natatorium would be too costly. He also said demolition could be a solution. "As a community we need to embrace idea that we need to raze Roberts," he said. But, like Davis, Winnecke said the decision should not be left up to one person. Winnecke said if he were mayor, a group of professionals would be gathered to explore ideas.

Here we go again, same thing, different day. There are many, many problems with this comment.

First of all, a basic park makes no sense at all for the Roberts Stadium property. Wesselman Woods is a virgin forest also known as an "old-growth" forest. This means that trees on the land are original, old, and unique. Therefore, you cannot replace or add to this forest and expect it to be the same.

Furthermore, if you plant new trees close enough to Wesselman Woods, the seeds from these trees will find their way onto the old-growth forest lot and will begin to mix. Over time, these seeds will plant new trees and Wesselman Woods will not be a completely old-growth/virgin forest. In fact, the environmentalist group Green America recommends that planting in old growth forests be prohibited...

http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/whattoknow/environment.cfm

New planting in virgin forests is prohibited.

If we are going to replant around Wesselman Woods, the correct decision must be to build a self-sufficient and separate botanical garden. The best one I've seen was in Omaha (http://www.lauritzengardens.org/). Trees inside a botanical garden must be contained and shielded from the nature preserve so that Wesselman Woods retains its old-growth character.

Constructing a botanical garden will take a lot of funding but will eventually pay for itself with admission/ ticket revenue, membership revenue, and grants. Most importantly, a botanical garden would compliment, not supplant, Roberts Stadium. Both buildings would form a buffer between Wesselman Woods and the city of Evansville.

Secondly, Commissioner Winnecke did not give us a cost estimate for planting a forest on the Roberts Stadium lot, yet claimed that it was cheaper than Rick Davis' natatorium idea. The truth is, demolishing Roberts Stadium, constructing even a basic park on the lot, and then maintaining it will not be cheaper than renovating Roberts Stadium and placing mid-sized events there, which is something that I firmly believe will get done if we vote for Rick Davis.

When David Dunn was trying to build the ball fields on the lot, he claimed that maintenance costs would be between $300,000 to $500,000. Yet, we are told that operating Roberts Stadium for $300,000 a year is too costly? No part of Winnecke's plan makes sense here. Sooner or later, I expect Commissioner Winnecke to realize that there is no cheaper or better solution than renovating Roberts Stadium.

Lastly, Commissioner Winnecke fails to tell us how the Parks Department is going to be able to take care of yet another park when they have admitted they already have their hands full. He also fails to tell us why a park would do Evansville any good especially since a replanted park next to a virgin forest would look phony and uninspiring. Commissioner Winnecke also fails to tell us how a park on this lot would generate any revenue for the city that will be lost with Roberts Stadium.

I'm still trying to "wrap my arms around" the idea that we should embrace demolition with a blind eye towards how much it would cost, how much it would cost to place another project on the lot, and how much it would cost to maintain the project. We should do all of this yet if we expect to renovate Roberts Stadium we better have an exact estimate, an exact plan, and an exact revenue estimate? This is clearly a double standard.

I also don't understand why Commissioner Winnecke isn't committed to saving Roberts Stadium. If you go to Commissioner Winnecke's " Winnecke for Mayor" Facebook page, you will see that Commissioner Winnecke himself visited Roberts Stadium several times during the Aces men's basketball season and apparently had a good time...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983#!/photo.php?fbid=150234978364386&set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983#!/photo.php?fbid=150235158364368&set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983#!/photo.php?fbid=151232038264680&set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983#!/photo.php?fbid=151243121596905&set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983#!/photo.php?fbid=151243668263517&set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983#!/photo.php?fbid=156784797709404&set=a.150101805044370.39305.138719009515983&type=1&theater

On one photo Commissioner Winnecke writes, "Aces come alive in second half, up 61-46 with 2:38 to play!!! Roberts I'd rocking!!!" On another photo he writes, " WOW this is fun Aces 40 Bears 28 with 48 seconds to go in the half'"

It also appears that Commissioner Winnecke had no problem whatsoever with the beams around the luxury suites that Building Authority manager Dave Rector claims are significantly blocking the view of luxury suite ticket holders. From the pictures, you can see that Roberts Stadium is in great shape both in the lower bowl and in the luxury suites, and Commissioner Winnecke is enjoying Roberts Stadium not avoiding it. It appears that he is Livin' La Vida Loca...




So why is Commissioner Winnecke strongly against fighting for Roberts Stadium? We are left with more questions that answers. In my opinion, Commissioner Winnecke could have given a much better speech to the Evansville-Area Trails Coalition. It should have gone something like this...

"I'm honored to be here to speak to the Evansville-Area Trails Coalition. I fully support their efforts to convert Evansville from an automobile dependent community to a bicycle and walkable community. As a result, I will fight for city-county consolidation only if the plan is strongly against urban sprawl.

As Commissioner, I approved road projects that totaled over $100 million. As mayor, I will work to make sure funds are redirected towards our parks, trails, paths, mass transit, and urban core instead. Wesselman Woods falls into this category.

As mayor, I believe that Roberts Stadium should be saved because of its rich history. However, that does not mean that it cannot be a part of our trails program. As mayor, I will make sure the main level of Roberts Stadium is open on non event days so that it can serve as the indoor part of the greenway which will serve as a safe, reliable, and expansive part of the greenway on rainy days.

As mayor, I will also fight to make sure that the Wesselman Woods district is both preserved and enhanced. I will form a committee that will be charged with acquiring funds for projects such as renovating Hartke Pool, constructing a botanical garden, and/or redigging the old Wabash & Erie Canal for Canoe Evansville.

I also believe that the original part of the greenway your organization helped fight for is being neglected. As mayor, I will cleanup and enhance the greenway around Garvin & Kleymeyer Parks. As mayor, I will fight for the ball fields project to be constructed at Kleymeyer Park because I believe this project is just what the doctor ordered for the greenway and the Garvin Park area.

As your mayor, I will make sure that you can go to the greenway and ball fields at Kleymeyer & Garvin Parks and be proud of it. I will also be aggressive in cleaning up the district around Bosse Field so that our entire community can enjoy and patronize our progressive greenway. As your mayor, I will make sure that our trails and greenways are taken to a whole new level while keeping our historic Roberts Stadium intact and promoting our historic Bosse Field district at the same time."

If I were Commissioner Winnecke, that is what I would have told the coalition. As I've said a thousand times on this blog, we ALL can win with this project if we do things correctly. I just hope Commissioner Winnecke realizes this before time runs out.

Don't wrap your arms around demolition, wrap your arms around Roberts Stadium. SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!