When Others Wouldn't Lend A Hand, Rick Davis Took A Stand

(city-countyobserver.com; PLEASE support this great site)

(Note: This is part 1 of a 5 part series this week. I will be doing a post for Lon Walters on Tuesday, Stephanie Brinkerhoff- Riley on Wednesday, Al Lindsey on Thursday, and Dr. Adams on Friday. Also, while the city clerk position has no bearing on Roberts Stadium, PLEASE vote JD Strouth for Clerk!)

It seems like just yesterday when I was filming the show Newsmakers with Mizell Stewart for PBS/WNIN and the Evansville Courier & Press as a cameraman and our scheduled guest was mayoral candidate Rick Davis. Yet, it's been almost 11 months since that episode was filmed and I still haven't forgotten it.

Before the airing of this show, the battle to save Roberts Stadium was an uphill battle steeper than Reitz Hill. No politician, and I mean no politician, was willing to go out on a limb and step in front of David Dunn's ball fields plan which was barreling down on Roberts Stadium.

I made my opposition to the destruction of Roberts Stadium known to the Vanderburgh County Council the month before as well as my vision that the ball fields should be constructed at Kleymeyer Park instead with a vintage MLB ballpark theme. The response I got was cricket noise.

I then proceeded to email the Evansville City Council. Of them all, only Dr. Dan Adams voiced his support for Roberts Stadium but his hands were tied as the City Council was left out of the ball fields political cycle at the time. The other council members didn't want anything to do with Roberts Stadium and took full advantage of not being in the process to avoid taking a stand for Roberts Stadium- That was truly pathetic!

My last steps were to email the EVCB and the County Commissioners. The EVCB was a colossal waste of time as the last thing Dunn was going to was give a tiny bit of consideration for an arena in his way, much less email me back trying to justify his plan. As for the 3 County Commissioners, only Commissioner Winnecke emailed me and agreed to meet with me (I still appreciate his kind gesture), but he took the position that Roberts Stadium should be demolished.

But since the airing of Newsmakers with guest Rick Davis, we have been rolling with momentum. If you go to the 13:45 mark of the show, which is only 29 seconds from the exact midpoint, you will hear Rick himself explain his support for Roberts Stadium...

http://video.wnin.org/video/1681067634

Shortly after the filming, I received this email from Mr. Davis...

"Dear Jordan: Wow. I just read your blog! I'm very humbled. I really appreciate the kind words you have shared with the Facebook and blogosphereworlds. I don't know if you knew this or not, but my first gig out of college (actually, when I was still in high school) was as a sportswriter. I covered 90%high school sports, but I had my occasional UK, U of L, and IU football and/or basketball game. I even covered a couple of Colts games back when Jeff George and Eric Dickerson were on the team (in other words, the WORST years to be a Colts fan). I wish you well with your sports management career.

Getting back to Roberts, I have always said it's a good thing Michelangelo wasn't from Evansville. We have a very bad habit of tearing down beautiful, paid off buildings. "Sistine Chapel, oh, it's old, tear it down and put in a parking garage. St. Peter's Basilica, oh, it's old, tear it down, put in a pawn shop."Now, don't get me wrong ... Roberts isn't the Sistine Chapel. But there is value there. And tearing it down would be doing away with millions of dollars worth of taxpayer funded materials; as well as priceless memories. Have a wonderful week,and Happy New Year! Rick. "

How many candidates and/or politicians can you think of that would be willing to stand this bold, this daring, and this risky? As I look through the history of Evansville, I can only find 3. They are Benjamin Bosse who fought to get Bosse Field built and even went door-to-door to collect funds to build UE, Hank Roberts who was only a one term mayor because he was willing to sacrifice his political career so that Roberts Stadium could be built, and Russ Lloyd Jr. who despite knowing that he would be criticized for trying to build a ballpark did so anyways as he knew it was right. He even laid out an entire Downtown Master plan in 2001 and in 2002 laid out a master plan to connect Garvin Park with Kleymeyer Park.

Those are the types of candidates we need in office. They only come around every once in a while so we cannot miss these opportunities when they present themselves. I guarantee you with a 110% faith behind me that if we don't elect Rick Davis as mayor, we will NEVER see a candidate like this for at least another 15-20 years.

We cannot afford to wait decades and decades and decades to turn this sinking ship R.M.S Evansville around. While the Ford Center is nice, if you drive through Downtown Evansville, you will see an area crying out for help. If you drive through the neighborhoods around Evansville, you will see the same thing. And if you drive past Roberts Stadium, you will a grand and legendary facility just begging you to elect Rick Davis so that it can come back to life and prosper once more.

When are we going to take a stand like Rick Davis did for Roberts Stadium and for our city as a whole? The time is now as we can no longer afford to wait and play politics with our dying city. We only get one chance to turn around this town, let's not let it go to waste.

IT'S TIME TO PICK RICK DAVIS FOR MAYOR!

(www.pickrickdavis.com)

How Do We Put Heads In Beds? Start The Ralph Legeman Classic

When we were told that Roberts Stadium must be demolished, we were told that it must be done in the name of "progress," and that this progress entailed putting "heads in beds."

Without any input from anyone in the community outside of our government officials and their close buddies, the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau quietly assembled a committee that would quickly study ideas they wanted to pursue before settling on demolishing Roberts Stadium and building 8 dull, generic, lifeless, and boring ball fields on the site.

Aside from the fact that it is nothing short of pathetic for this group to take multiple years to put together a plan that does nothing to put Evansville above any other city with basic ball fields, it is even more ridiculous that this group was given the power of the government and didn't even consider what we already have- Roberts Stadium.

That's right, no committee, panel, hearing, or government task force was ever gathered to think about what we can do with Roberts Stadium to increase visitors who would spend the night at our local hotels.

You see, if our government leaders would have taken just a few moments to consider Roberts Stadium's potential, they would have realized one glaring fact- This facility is located in basketball country and was designed by the father of the fieldhouses.

Earlier, I talked about Ralph Legeman, the local architect who designed Roberts Stadium also designed 27 bowl gymnasiums for both high school and college and licensed 10 others.

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/05/legend-of-ralph-legeman.html

Most importantly, Legeman holds the patent for the fieldhouse design and constructed the largest high school gymnasium in the world in New Castle, Indiana which happens to be the site of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Here is the diagram of Legeman's fieldhouse design on his patent...



If you aren't familiar with "Hoosier Hysteria," it is important to understand the basic components of it and what we can do with it here in Evansville.

1. Almost all gymnasiums are fieldhouses (started by Legeman), not arenas or stadiums. For this reason, our new arena should have been called Ford Fieldhouse instead of the Ford Center...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/08/ford-center-again-why-not-ford.html

I guarantee you the only reason why this correction hasn't already been made is because of the personal egos of those making the decisions. Hopefully this changes next year.

2. It is common practice, and tradition as well, for high school and college basketball teams to participate in pre-season and mid-season tournaments. This gives these teams and their fans a chance to play teams outside of their region and travel to venues and cities they ordinarily wouldn't. This is where Roberts Stadium and our goal of putting "heads in beds" comes into play.

Currently, Conseco Fieldhouse has the Crossroads Classic (formerly the Hoosier Classic) featuring Butler, Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame. These teams were chosen as they are all Indiana teams that have enjoyed success during the great years of basketball in the state of Indiana.

Given that Ralph Legeman designed or holds a license for bowls/gymnasiums for 30 high schools in the following locations...

Norris City
Herrin
Owensville
Herrin JHS
Murphysboro
Huntingburg
Pinckneyville
Bushnell-Prairie City
Lynnville
Central (Clifton)
Hamilton
Ridgway
Trico
Jacksonville
Center Grove
Evansville North
Carmel
Edinburg
Boonville
Connersville
New Castle
Switz City
Clay City
Orleans
West Vigo
Springs Valley
Brownstown Central
West Washington
Eastern (Pekin)
Indian Creek
Loogootee

If we want to increase our hotel occupancy rate, why don't we invite all of these high schools to Evansville to participate in a high school basketball tournament? Wouldn't it make more sense to construct the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park next to Bosse Field so that baseball players utilize our downtown hotel while using Roberts Stadium for high school basketball games to keep the east side businesses busy?

To make this tournament work, we would have to add at least 2 wildcard teams to make it an even 32 for the basketball tournament plus replacement teams for whichever high schools cannot make the trip. It would consist of five rounds: 1 round of 32, 1 round of 16, 1 round of 8, 1 round of 4, and a championship game.

Why does this tournament make sense?

1. It promotes Evansville as the home to Ralph Legeman who invented the fieldhouse, thus Evansville is the true "Home of the Fieldhouse." Many tourists and visitors don't know that. We need to change that.

2. Just about all of these high school teams are within the Tri-State boundaries. Although Legeman has designed a few Michigan fieldhouses that have yet to be identified, most of these gymnasiums are located either in Central Indiana, Southern Indiana, Southern Illinois, or Western Kentucky. Therefore, these teams will not have to spend much money to travel, and their fans will be able to make the trip too (more heads in beds).

3. This tournament would fill 5 days up on the Roberts Stadium schedule.

4. This tournament pulls in visitors to our city instead of just using the local teams who wouldn't use hotels and already spend money in Evansville.

5. The overheard for this tournament is minimal. We already have Roberts Stadium, its court, and basketball goals. Our only overheard would be labor, electric (which we are already using right now), and concession stand supplies. We would not need any funds from the ECVB or city hall although a sponsorship may not be a bad idea.

6. Since most of these teams are on the edge of the Tri-State map, our local companies can use this opportunity to expand their market to costumers who will be within driving range of a return visit to Evansville.

7. A lot of these towns are small, thus this tournament will be talked about by everyone in these small towns and it will be the premier game of the season for most of these teams.

8. This tournament will improve the ability of the Aces and Eagles to recruit by cutting down on transportation costs and by exposing these players to the USI & UE images all week.

9. This tournament creates jobs, specifically those lost at SMG this year.

10. This tournament promotes Evansville as a "Regional Destination."

11. This tournament can be co-branded and/or marketed with other local events.

12. This tournament DOES NOT compete with the Ford Center.

Of course, this past week, we've heard from some of those who oppose Roberts Stadium that we do not need Roberts Stadium because we can simply put the curtains up at the Ford Center to lower the capacity down to 6,000. I will be talking about this in an upcoming post but here are a few reasons why this tournament would not work at the Ford Center.

1. You can put up as many curtains as you want but that still won't make the rent affordable for this tournament.

2. There aren't enough dates for this tournament. The Icemen, the Aces basketball teams, and Concerts such as Bob Seger have already taken all of the dates.

3. Ralph Legeman did not build the Ford Center. Roberts Stadium is a better venue to promote this event.

For these reasons and many more, all or most of the other tenants such as indoor football, indoor soccer, NBDL basketball, trade shows, and mid-size concerts will not compete with the Ford Center. We need this tournament and we need it at Roberts Stadium.

If we really wanted to promote the Ralph Legeman Classic idea, we could also host a college basketball game.

Indianapolis University, which use to be Indiana Central College, has a facility built by Legeman on its campus. An exhibition game between Indianapolis and the Aces would make for a nice throwback game where the Aces could bring the sleeves back out for one game a year.

If you look at the poll on the right of this blog, you will see that high school and college basketball games are the most desired option amongst those who come to this site. Why don't we fill this need with the Ralph Legeman Classic?

If you want to put heads in beds, don't demolish history, SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!

Happy Birthday Roberts Stadium

(dazzlejunction.com)

55 years ago today, Roberts Stadium hosted its first event- the Harlem Globetrotters. After a long and lengthy construction period that had started on March 18, 1955 (my grandpa was part of the construction crew), the arena was ready to roar.

At the time, it was known as "Municipal Stadium," but it would only take a month and change (Dec 1, 1956 to be exact) before the venue would be known as Roberts Stadium. 9,000 fans attended the game between Purdue and Evansville College where the arena was officially dedicated to mayor Hank Roberts.

While not all of what you see on Roberts Stadium is original, most of it still is. If you take a look at Roberts Stadium, you will see that the original part of the building which contains the bricks and steel structure that forms the triangle top of the roof is dark brown, while the newly added parts of Roberts Stadium found on the outside of the building contain a tan/burnt orange look...



The important thing to remember is that the original steel roof structure is still there after all of these years. Not only is it still there, it's still healthy as the HNTB report clearly states "The existing Roberts Stadium building appears to have little or no observed or reported structural damage."

The Courier & Press claimed that the windows have fogged up due to air conditioning and system failures. But if you look at the photos, you will see that only 1 or 2 windows at most need to be cleaned...





In fact, you can see right through most of the windows....



So 55 years later, we are back to square one. We are fighting those who back in the day were calling Roberts Stadium, "Hank's Tank." We are fighting those who don't believe in constructing stadiums, ballparks, and arenas. Lastly, we are fighting to make sure that Hank Roberts and his administration are still remembered by keeping the name Roberts Stadium active and alive.

At the city council debates last Wednesday, we heard a lot of cut and dry responses to Roberts Stadium. While I'm thoroughly satisfied in the 4 candidates on the right (thank you again Lon Walters for mentioning indoor football, soccer, and basketball), overall, we never heard the name Ralph Legeman and we never heard the name Hank Roberts.

Do the candidates who oppose Roberts Stadium understand what those who support Roberts Stadium are fighting for? Do they understand that Ralph Legeman is THE architect who patented the Indiana Fieldhouse design? Do they understand that this design has taken Indiana basketball to a level no other type of basketball has been too? Do they understand that Hank Roberts sacrificed his political career so that Roberts Stadium could be built?

Those are the types of things that we are fighting for, and make no mistake, we are the right side of this battle. It's gotten so bad now that those who oppose Roberts Stadium are running from us...

1. We presented the idea of raising the floor to lower the costs of maintenance. They refused to study this issue while instead opting to study Lloyd Pool.

2. I rounded up an investor who is willing to bring indoor soccer, indoor football, minor league basketball, and mid-sized concerts to Roberts Stadium to couple with high school basketball and youth sports tournaments. They responded with the idea that the Ford Center has curtains that can lower the capacity to 6,000 seats. The problem is, is that those curtains don't make renting the Ford Center any more attractive to mid-sized tenants who are on a limited budget. The investor has told me point blank he will not go into the Ford Center. Roberts Stadium opponents have ignored these basic facts.

3. I compiled a list of fundraising ideas. I also got a commitment from the investor to do concerts to raise funds for Roberts Stadium. As usual, the other side stuck to their idea that you have to elect them and let them assemble a committee next year to get anything done with Roberts Stadium.

4. Roberts Stadium opponents have argued that no one wants to support Roberts Stadium unless it's making hand over fist money. Roberts Stadium supporter Sherman Stevens getting over 150 people to place Save Roberts Stadium yard signs in their yard proves otherwise.

5. We have written into the C&P, the CCO, and to our government officials with ideas and support for Roberts Stadium. The other side has failed to tell us how they would mix a new park with a virgin forest, how they would pay for any new project, and how they would finance maintenance of any new project. Basically, they just want Roberts Stadium gone and they want you to believe it will be free to demolish and cheap to build something else.

55 years later, are you willing to renew the battle for Roberts Stadium? Are you willing to follow mayor Hank Roberts down the path of progress? Are you willing to put Evansville first over your own needs and wants?

If you so, join the Save Roberts Stadium movement in wishing Roberts Stadium a HAPPY 55TH BIRTHDAY!

(sacredwaste.com)

Do As Commissioner Winnecke Says, Not As He Does

(amazon.com)

These past few weeks, we've learned everything we need to know about what a Winnecke Administration would do with Roberts Stadium if elected.

With these past few announcements and his testimony at the WNIN Mayoral Debate, it's more than obvious that Commissioner Winnecke wants us to do as he says and not as he does.

The first three mayoral debates were enough alone to understand that Commissioner Winnecke isn't serious about Roberts Stadium. During the first debate at Harrison High School, Commissioner Winnecke said that we need to get local residents to wrap their arms around the idea of demolition.

Then at the second debate, Commissioner Winnecke questioned the city of Omaha constructing a natatorium as an indirect response to putting one either in or next to Roberts Stadium. As I pointed out before, Omaha is NOT a good example for Commissioner Winnecke's invest in nothing idea...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/09/lets-talk-about-omaha-nebraska.html

I would like to thank the Creighton Blue Jays fansite Bluejayunderground.com for picking that post up. As a result, from here to Omaha, several hundred people came to this blog and have no idea why Commissioner Winnecke doesn't want to be like Omaha, Nebraska who is getting ready to bring swimming legend Michael Phelps to town. Everyone from Omaha has agreed that they are satisfied with the progress of downtown Omaha!

The third debate, which was the second debate on WNIN, Commissioner Winnecke really lays the double standard down on Roberts Stadium. Check out the 26 minute segment of the debate...

http://video.wnin.org/video/2156418259/

That's right, Commissioner Winnecke who told me in person that Roberts Stadium should be "nothing but a hole in the ground," and emailed me his statement that says he does not believe we "can or should "save" Roberts Stadium," is rushing to the defense of Lloyd Pool (You can read that email in this post: http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-do-mayoral-candidates-stack-up-on.html)

Yet Roberts Stadium, even in mothball form, costs $300,000 to operate while Lloyd Pool, according to Commissioner Winnecke, costs roughly $400,000 to operate. It doesn't take a math expert to realize the simple equation: $300,000 < $400,000.

On top of that, Roberts Stadium is in much better shape than Lloyd Pool. If you go to Lloyd Pool, which I did last year, you will notice that the complex has seen better days. The water from the pool is running amuck on the structure. For this very reason, I have been advocating for building the swimming complex next to Roberts Stadium, not inside Roberts Stadium...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-natatorium-is-better-next-to.html

If you keep watching the above video from the debate, you will notice that Mr. Rick Davis echoed the same idea of "killing two birds with one stone."

Given that Lloyd Pool is in terrible condition and costs $400,000 to operate, does Commissioner Winnecke propose a committee that will decide if it should be saved or demolished like he did with Roberts Stadium? Of course not, he has already made the decision that we should save it...

http://www.winneckeformayor.com/2011/10/20/winnecke-pledges-to-keep-lloyd-pool-open/

Let's take a look at some of the quotes from the press release...

"Our public pools are an asset to the community. With attendance for 2011 surpassing previous years, it is obvious that the community uses our expansive pool system, so keeping it up-to-date and safe is an investment worth making."

So why are we letting Hartke Pool crumble? Why are we not investing in an indoor water park resort to couple with a natatorium and outdoor pools that will share the expenses with a private investor? Why are we letting French Lick, Indiana who has Big Splash Water Adventure jump ahead of us? Wouldn't an indoor water park resort, an indoor natatorium, and an outdoor pool complex make perfect sense next to Roberts Stadium where travelers can enjoy retail and entertainment?

"Rather than support Lloyd Pool’s existence and proper restoration, Rick Davis has called for it to be closed entirely. I do not believe this is the right answer. Our administration will look for new ways to promote Lloyd Pool’s use and ensure it is properly maintained."

The same exact thing can be said for Roberts Stadium. So why did you tell me you thought it should be demolished? Why don't you look for ways to properly maintain and promote it as well? Why is a pool costing $400,000 worth saving but a stadium/arena costing $300,000 that is one of the few things in Evansville that has been successful isn't worth saving? Pot meet kettle...

(thelibertyvoice.com)

"Tourism officials have already indicated that there is no way a Natatorium in Evansville can generate enough income to offset the retirement of construction bonds and operation costs."

So why are you wanting to stick money into Lloyd Pool? Of course a natatorium doesn't make sense for tourism if you don't couple it with an indoor water park resort. Natatoriums tailor more to the locals than they do tourists (unless you build one like Omaha's). It is the opposite for indoor water park resorts.

"The cost of construction could easily range from $10 to $20 million with annual maintenance and operation costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. "

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in operation costs? Isn't that what you said Lloyd Pool has in the above video?

"With a struggling economy, Evansville cannot afford more extravagant public works projects."

This is the worst part of this entire press release. It's amazing just how far the Vanderburgh County GOP has fallen since the days of Hank Roberts and Russ Lloyd Jr. Both of those mayors had a vision. Hank Roberts wanted to build Roberts Stadium, while Russ Lloyd Jr. wanted to build the 2001 Downtown master plan.

Now, we are left with a candidate who calls capital improvement projects "extravagant" yet spends over $100 million on simple road projects such as North Green River, Oak Hill, Millersburg, and the Lloyd Expressway that will do absolutely nothing but create more urban sprawl. Commissioner Winnecke mentioned the 2001 master plan on his website. I guess we now know what will happen to that plan as well.

"I am open to preserving Roberts Stadium, if it makes financial sense to do so."

No you're not. You specifically said "We cannot or should not "save" Roberts Stadium." That means 1 of 4 things...

1. You weren't telling the truth then.
2. You aren't telling the truth now.
3. You changed your mind so that you don't lose the Roberts Stadium vote.
4. You genuinely changed your mind once you decided to run for mayor.

I'll let you the readers of this blog decide which # makes the most sense.

"Unfortunately, cost estimates, both for re-use and for demolition, have varied substantially. We must have all the facts before committing to spend tens of millions of dollars on such a costly project. "

That's because you haven't been willing to commit yourself to researching Roberts Stadium. Why didn't you ask an engineer how much it would cost to raise the floor? Why didn't you talk to SMG about going after mid-sized event teams such as indoor football, soccer, NBDL basketball, trade shows, concerts, and youth sports tournaments? Why haven't you talked to USI? Why do we have to elect you for you to do these types of things?

"Evansville needs a mayor who will control spending."

So why did you approve of road projects that cost over $100 million and will only cause more urban sprawl which will result in more sewers, more utility upgrades, more emergency services, and more government services in general? Why do you support I-69, an interstate that will cost over $5 billion ($3.31 for new terrain, $1.2-$1.4 billion for bridge, legal fees, and extra funds needed to replace inferior materials and add back the interchanges, rest areas, and bridges that won't cause flooding) when even I-69 supporters themselves have admitted they don't have the money? Why did you not take a stand on the ball fields at Wesselman Park that were going to cost $17.5 million? Most importantly, have you heard of the Homestead Tax Credit?

Although it makes absolutely no sense for Commissioner Winnecke to pledge to save Lloyd Pool, talk about his memories at Lloyd Pool, and then commit to financing almost $200,000 for what will surely be a duct-tape solution while telling us that Roberts Stadium must be looked at financially not emotionally.

It also doesn't make sense for Commissioner Winnecke to oppose capital improvement projects, ones that have brought Oklahoma City, Omaha, Indianapolis, and Louisville back from despair, while committing to I-69 and county roads that will cost billions and billions and billions and are reported to fall short in their financing, job creation, and environmental impact.

Lastly, it doesn't make sense for Commissioner Winnecke to say we need to do what is best for the city of Evansville in regards to Roberts Stadium when he refused to consider alternative locations for the ball fields. When I met with him last year, he admitted that building the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park was a good idea but wasn't willing to support moving the ball fields out of Wesselman Park because, " It wasn't a Johnny Come Lately Project." He believed Dunn and the ECVB spent too much time on it to consider other ideas. How did that turn out?

But what may shed a little light on some of these positions is Commissioner Winnecke's Campaign Finance Report...

http://city-countyobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Winnecke-Campaign-Pre-Election-Report-Oct-14-2011.pdf

Some things of note:

On page 43 you will see Eugene Hahn of Hahn Realty. Is this why Commissioner Winnecke refuses to control urban sprawl? Is this why Commissioner Winnecke would "root for" development projects out in the county if they simply build a bike path even though a bike path far away in the suburbs cannot prevent the automobile from sprawling, thus proving to be irrelevant?

On page 108 you will see a $5,000 donation from John Dunn who is partners with David Dunn at Dunn Hospitality who was in charge of the ball fields that magically kept appearing on plots not too far from Dunn Hospitality Hotels...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2010/12/locationlocationlocation-for-dunn.html

If Commissioner Winnecke is this close to the Dunns, then why didn't he ask them to simply move the fields to Kleymeyer Park which he conceded is in much worse shape than Wesselman Park? Why didn't he simply ask the Dunns to build the fields around Roberts Stadium or somewhere else if he genuinely cares about Roberts Stadium?

On page 7 of the expense report you will see that Commissioner Winnecke gave the Southwestern Indiana Chamber of Commerce $650 for "promotion and goodwill." He's also seen golfing with them on their front page: http://www.evansvillechamber.com/ Does anyone think he will be standing up against them on I-69 or any other of their projects such as consolidation for that matter?

It's more than obvious who we need to elect to make sure that Roberts Stadium is saved. While Commissioner Winnecke refuses to stand up against the Dunns, the Chamber, urban sprawl, and the Homestead Tax Credit being taken away, Treasurer Rick Davis has taken a stand against the Democratic Central Committee, against the loss of the Homestead Tax Credit, and against the demolition of Roberts Stadium.

Commissioner Winnecke is a great man, just a terrible politician. We just cannot afford to elect those who don't want to lead on key issues. We need leaders, like Rick Davis, who are willing to fight for Evansville. We have a golden icon in Roberts Stadium, a dying North Main Street that needs a shot in the arm in the form of 8 softball fields, and an urban core that needs to be renewed while lowering taxes at the same time. Rick Davis is, OUR SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM CANDIDATE.

Let's not do what Commissioner Winnecke says, let's do what Treasurer Rick Davis does!

(city-countyobserver.com; PLEASE SUPPORT THIS GREAT WEBSITE!)

And So It Begins

Yesterday afternoon, I took what will be the first step in winning the battle to save Roberts Stadium- I voted. From 8 am to 4 pm you can cast your ballot as well at room 214 (farthest office south on the 2nd floor) at the Evansville Civic Center. You can also cast your ballot at the following locations...

Civic Center Election Office - Room 214
Monday-Friday
8a.m.-4p.m.
Oct. 10 - Nov. 7

Civic Center Election Office - Room 214
Saturday
8a.m.-4p.m.
Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Central Library
Monday-Thursday
10a.m.-7p.m.
Oct. 17 - Nov. 4

McCullough Library
Monday-Thursday
10a.m.-7p.m.
Oct. 17 - Nov. 4

Oaklyn Library
Monday-Thursday
10a.m.-7p.m.
Oct. 17 - Nov. 4

North Park Library
Monday-Thursday
10a.m.-7p.m.
Oct. 17 - Nov. 4

Red Bank Library
Monday-Thursday
10a.m.-7p.m.
Oct. 17 - Nov. 4

The Salvation Army
Saturday
8a.m.-4p.m.
Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

Northeast Park Baptist Church
Saturday
8a.m.-4p.m.
Oct. 29 & Nov. 5

If you plan on voting on election day make sure you don't forget to go to the polls on November 8th. But if you want to go ahead and get it out of the way (which made more sense to me), please make sure you stop by one of the above locations before Nov 4th or 5th.

So why is it important to vote this year and who should you vote for?

I'm sure most residents will not go to the polls because they don't think one vote matters, they don't want to mess with the weather, or they just don't care. Make sure you are not one of these residents as these are the people who are killing our city.

Last spring, turnout for the primary was dismal. I can't remember the exact percentage of registered voters who turned out, but it wasn't even close to being acceptable. As a result, we lost some good candidates who pledged to fight for Roberts Stadium. If we don't get our Save Roberts Stadium supporters out for the general election, we are going to be fighting an uphill battle the rest of the way. We can't afford to have Roberts Stadium supporters sitting on the sidelines during the election.

For this reason, I cast my ballot yesterday afternoon at the Civic Center...



Although most residents don't want to discuss their ballot (nothing wrong with that), I will gladly tell you some of the candidates I voted for because it is important to understand who we need to put in office to keep our legendary facility going strong.

This year, you have many different offices to vote for. You will have..

1. Mayor

2. City Clerk

3. City Council for the Ward you live in (mine is 6th Ward)

4. City Council At-Large ( you get to choose 3 candidates out of 6 that are left)

My ballot was cast for Rick Davis, JD Strouth, Al Lindsey, Dr. Dan Adams, and then 2 other candidates who I won't reveal unless they take the pledge to save Roberts Stadium.

Please note: the first week of November, which is the final week before the election, I will be producing a post each day for all of the candidates who have pledged to save Roberts Stadium (right now we have 5). I'm doing this the week before so that it is fresh in your mind. For today, I will give a brief explanation of who Save Roberts Stadium is endorsing and why. I will give further details in 2 weeks.

Mayor

If we are going to save Roberts Stadium, electing Rick Davis IS A MUST. Rick Davis has supported this blog and this movement since day 1. He is doing this because he understands the value of Roberts Stadium. When you talk to him, he tells you about all of the good memories he has had at Roberts Stadium. As a candidate with a sports reporter background, he also understands how Roberts Stadium works and why we must keep it.

On the flip side, when I met with Commissioner Winnecke last year, he told me he supported demolishing it. You can read more about the two candidates here...

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

Given this knowledge, I can't express just how important it is for you to cast your ballot for Rick Davis. Please make sure you tell your neighbors, your friends, and anyone else who is a registered voter to Pick Rick Davis

City Clerk

Although the Evansville City Clerk will probably have zero impact on the Roberts Stadium situation, I would gladly appreciate it if you would vote for J.D Strouth.

Why should you vote for J.D Strouth? For any resident who doesn't know Mr. Strouth, you must know how hard of a worker he is. Last spring, while standing outside a poll passing out flyers for Rick Davis and Patrick McBride, I stood next to Mr. Strouth.

For the primary, J.D was unopposed on the Republican side. If he really wanted to, J.D could have just stayed home and waited for the general election. But J.D did quite the opposite. Instead of waiting around, J.D went up to every single voter he could find. He didn't just give them a flyer with his name on it. Rather, he talked to every single voter for at least 10-15 minutes and gathered all of their ideas. He also pledged to keep any Democrat/Republican bias out of the clerk's office. This is the type of mindset we need here in Evansville if we are going to make something out of Roberts Stadium.

City Council Ward 1

No candidate has pledged to give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium.

City Council Ward 2

After the primary election, I have been very disappointed in the 2nd Ward. Why would anyone vote against Patrick McBride? When he found out about the Save Roberts Stadium movement, Patrick invited me over to his house, laid out all of the options and details about Roberts Stadium, and committed himself to keeping the venue standing. Patrick was one of those who fell victim to a low voter turnout. This is the perfect example of why we need to get those who care about Roberts Stadium to the polls.

Luckily, we now have a 2nd chance in the 2nd Ward with Lon Walters. Once more, words cannot express how great of a candidate Lon Walters is. Like Patrick, Lon contacted me, gathered all of the data, followed all of the leads, and has committed himself to saving Roberts Stadium.

Since the beginning, Lon has gone to all ends of the earth to help us save Roberts Stadium. When I have asked, Lon has given me architects, engineers, and building experts who have given us an idea of what we need and we can do for Roberts Stadium. That is what my vision of good government is, is that your vision as well? If so, vote Lon Walters for City Council Ward 2

City Council Ward 3

Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley truly is a gift to the Save Roberts Stadium movement. If elected, Stephanie will represent the district that Roberts Stadium itself sits in. She also would represent the district that Kleymeyer Park and Bosse Field sit in which is where we desperately need to build the ball fields at.

Like the other 4 Save Roberts Stadium candidates, Stephanie reached out to me, set up a meeting, listened to all of the data, leads, and opportunities for Roberts Stadium, and then committed herself to keeping Roberts Stadium standing.

With Stephanie in office, all of those famous neighbors of Roberts Stadium will finally get the voice they need. As most of you remember, I, as well as Rick Davis and other supporters of his, have walked the district around Roberts Stadium. Not one single resident wanted Roberts Stadium to go. At the same time, ALL residents expressed their desire to see Roberts Stadium saved. Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley is the candidate we need who will fight for those neighbors. If you're in the 3rd Ward, vote Brinkerhoff-Riley.

City Council Ward 4

No candidate has pledged to give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium.

City Council Ward 5

Neither of the two candidates have pledged to save Roberts Stadium.

City Council Ward 6

For those in the 6th Ward, which I myself am a member of, we have what I feel is the best candidate to ever run fo the 6th Ward- Al Lindsey. Al was the FIRST CANDIDATE to commit to give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium. Al doesn't have any use for politics as usual. When he sees an initiative that makes sense and he is passionate about, like saving Roberts Stadium, he takes a stand and doesn't allow naysayers to talk him out of it. We have NEVER had that type of leader in the 6th Ward.

By voting for Al Lindsey, you are sending a strong message that you are tired of business as usual in the 6th Ward. You are saying loud and clear that you believe in both the 6th Ward and the Evansville region to get the job done by saving Roberts Stadium. Like I said in an earlier post, Al Lindsey is a modern day Abraham Lincoln. Neither the 6th Ward nor the city of Evansville, nor Roberts Stadium can afford not to have Al Lindsey on the city council!

City Council At-Large

Although you can select 3 people for the City Council At-Large, I have chosen to endorse only one candidate at this time. After speaking to just about all of these candidates, I am thoroughly confident we will pick up two more Roberts Stadium supporters as time moves on.

However, Dr. Dan Adams is the only candidate who has given us his word that he will give a good faith effort to save Roberts Stadium. This should come as a surprise to no one. Dr. Adams has always, and I mean always, been a leader on the city council. If you talk to him for just a mili-second, you too will understand just how smart, open minded, and dedicated Dr. Adams is too the city of Evansville.

I am very glad that Dr. Adams is running in the at-large spot. Over the years, Dr. Adams has helped a lot of people. Now, every single one of them will have the opportunity to vote for him.

Dr. Adams is willing to boldly go out and put his name behind Roberts Stadium. Now we must do the simple and right thing by putting Dr. Adams on our ballot selection.

The important thing to remember is that the save Roberts Stadium movement is now a force to be reckoned with. To my knowledge, no candidate got more than 3,000 votes during the primary election. In contrast, over 15,000 people have come to this blog. So if we can get just one person for every 5 people that have visited this blog to vote for the 5 candidates on the right as well as city clerk candidate J.D Strouth, we will win this election easily.

We all know that elections have consequences, but no election in the history of Evansville has meant more than this year's election. There is no doubt in my mind that Roberts Stadium's fate will be decided on election day. We've taken Roberts Stadium 55 years down the road, let's not let a handful of bureaucrats erase our goal.

From now until election day, we need to remember those who will remember Roberts Stadium.

TAKE NOTE, GO VOTE!

(holeshotstudio.com)

This Arena Isn't Big Enough For The Both Of Them

(news4uonline.com; PLEASE SUPPORT THEM!)

As we sit less than a month away from the Ace's first home game at the new Downtown arena (it's hard to believe), there are many things most local residents still don't know about the 20+ year battle to both save Roberts Stadium and construct a new facility downtown at the same time. Let's take a look through the history books to examine a few of these unknown story lines.

Many local residents do not realize that this was the third time the city of Evansville tried to build a downtown arena. The third time appears to be the charm as the first two tries were unsuccessful. Previously, the city tried in 1989 to build a Downtown arena instead of renovating Roberts Stadium...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=804568

This plan would eventually fail as city leaders decided to undertake the cheaper option (does that surprise you) of renovating Roberts Stadium. Although this appeared to be a good move for Roberts Stadium itself, in the long run it simply hasn't been a good idea for either Roberts Stadium or the city of Evansville. We now have a Roberts Stadium that has lost a part of its original structure and a downtown that has laid dormant for years.

Even worse is the fact that then mayor Michael Vandeveer had an AWESOME plan to build a 15,000 seat dome instead of a small arena...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=713473

As you can see from the article mayor Vandeveer had the vision our current city leaders just don't have. He had the vision of working out the details on a hotel before the arena/stadium got underway, and he had the vision to build it with at least 15,000 seats so that Evansville could bring the NCAA to town. He also had the vision to make it a multi-purpose dome. But in the end, everyone lost!

Then in 1998, a group of Downtown developers attempted to revitalize the idea of building an arena Downtown...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=839183
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=839184

The idea failed to gain political support, but this brings up to our next unknown fact- this project was originally intended to house USI not UE.

In 1998, USI, along with SIGEO and a few major banks in Evansville, pledged funds to study the idea of a new arena. At the time, they were just a few years removed from winning the Division II national championship in men's basketball.

The mid and late 90s were a good time to be a USI basketball fan. Led by Bruce Pearl, USI was unstoppable at PAC Arena as greats Stan Guourd, Sean Gilbert, and Marc Hostettler (I'm sure I spelled these names wrong) just to name a few dominated the court every game. I am lucky to have had front row season tickets behind the visitors bench during those seasons. If you watch replays of USI games on WAZ, you will see me at every single game.

But like every thing else in Evansville, USI basketball has taken a few steps back since the 90s. Two years ago, the NCAA put USI on probation, and that has proven to be a substantial hole for USI to dig itself back out of. Will USI return to the top? Only time will tell.

Although USI hasn't gotten its men's basketball program back to where it needs to be, the program is definitely at a crossroads once more. Just this past week, arch rival Kentucky Wesleyan announced that it will bolt from the GLVC for a newly formed conference. This comes just 6 months after Northern Kentucky University voted to apply to the NCAA for Division I affiliation.

USI has enjoyed tremendous success in the Division II ranks these past two decades. USI sponsors 15 varsity intercollegiate sports. Since 1990, all 15 Screaming Eagles teams have participated in their respective national tournaments and/or were ranked at the national level. USI has claimed two national championships (men's basketball, 1995 under head coach Bruce Pearl; men's baseball under coach Tracy Archuleta, 2010), finished three times as the national finalist (men's basketball, 1994 and 2004; and women's basketball, 1997), and earned one third-place finish (men's cross country, 1982). The men's and women's cross country/track teams have produced six national championships since 1997.

NKU, which usually trails both Kentucky Wesleyan and USI in the GLVC standings is making the aggressive move to Division I while the other two aren't. Why are they?

http://www.fox19.com/story/15299110/nku-one-step-closer-to-becoming-a-division-i-school

But Cole says NKU is unique in that it already has the minimum requirement for sports and a number of facilities like it's new soccer field and The Bank of Kentucky Center that keeps the school ahead of the D-I game.

Simply put, USI needs to be competitive with their facilities, not just with their team accomplishments. Although USI may be enjoying success at the Division II level, they will need to upgrade their facilities to make this type of success sustainable. Since 1995, two other GLVC schools have made the jump to Division I. Both of these schools never came close to overtaking USI in men's basketball but made the jump due to improved facilities.

USI, like NKU, has an immediate goal of increasing enrollment to 20,000 students. And like NKU, USI drew up a master plan in 2006 to improve their campus. The master plan called for renovating PAC Arena. I'm glad to see this as PAC Arena is to USI basketball what apple pie is to America.

http://www.usi.edu/phyplant/mstrplan/USI%20Master%20Plan%20Report.pdf

But with that being said, PAC Arena can only be renovated so much. It will never make sense to expand it to 10,000 + seats without basically demolishing the structure. The Screaming Eagles will need to find a new arena while using PAC Arena as their practice facility. This is exactly what NKU is doing with their former home court Regents Hall.

So where would USI go? They basically only have three options.

1. Build a new arena on campus next to PAC Arena

2. Move into the new Downtown arena with the Aces

3. Move into Roberts Stadium.

If we break the options down further, we will need to eliminate option 1. Currently, USI probably does not have, nor wants to commit, adequate funds to construct an entirely new arena on campus. And we know for sure that the city of Evansville and Vanderburgh County have already committed their funds to the Ford Center. Not to mention, building an arena on campus is really not a good idea as there are few, if any, businesses next to the USI campus that would enjoy the economic benefits of a new arena. Therefore, we will eliminate Option 1

Option 2 is possible but still a long shot. To move USI into the Ford Center, we would have to get both UE and the Icemen to share their premier dates. Previously, our city leaders have balked at ideas such as a NBDL team at the Ford Center due to scheduling conflicts. USI takes up over twice as many dates as a NBDL team. Lastly, renting the Ford Center is quite expensive and would put a strain on USI's budget which will prevent them from dedicating resources to other facilities that need to be on the Division I level. Playing a few USI games at the Ford Center- good idea. Playing all of USI's home games at the Ford Center- terrible idea.

Besides, sharing facilities has never been supported by the fans. This past year, the San Francisco 49ers have received full approval to build and then move into a new football stadium in Santa Clara, California which would require them to vacate Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

As it stands, the 49ers just don't have the funds to complete the stadium. To find the last amount of funding, the 49ers have reached across the bay to the Oakland Raiders who are looking for a new stadium as well. They also got the NFL involved who released a statement that both teams should share a stadium, which would mean that both teams would leave their home cities for Santa Clara.

For those who don't watch football, moving the Raiders, who are known to have rough, inner city, and blue collar fans in with the 49ers who are known to have easy going, rich, and white collar fans is not a good idea at all. We saw this first hand at a 49ers-Raiders PRESEASON game this year which doesn't even count towards the year's record...







Teams and fans that share the same facility just don't like each other. We've also seen this with...

New York Giants- New York Jets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY1IWGht36g

Los Angeles Clippers- Los Angeles Lakers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAChOZebcRA

Here in Evansville, westsiders call eastsiders "cake eaters," while eastsiders call westsiders " fish eaters." Each side is a 180 degrees different than the other side. It's like the Dr. Seuss Butter Battle where Butter Side Up and Butter Side Down were always trying to top the other side...

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

Let's not mix these two sides. Let's let them have their own facilities to leave their own marks on!

This takes us to our final option- Option 3: Move into Roberts Stadium. Obviously, the first problem that critics of Roberts Stadium will say is this, " Roberts Stadium is an east side facility that shouldn't be used for a west side team." True, Roberts Stadium and Aces basketball go hand-in-hand, BUT starting next month the Aces will be the Ford Center's team. The Ace's will be moving most of their stuff to the "Corridor of Champions" section at the Ford Center.

Moving USI into Roberts Stadium will allow us to pay tribute to the 1977 Aces, as well as mayor Hank Roberts and architect Ralph Legeman, while recognizing the 1995-1996 USI Screaming Eagles at the same time (what a great thing for walkers, joggers, and cyclists to see on the Roberts Stadium indoor Greenway!). I think this cartoon sums it up best...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmRcV1-u9-6tZLBap8zWtLQPJywIw28u-SDtIYBV7dXn8JVbzh6s37zbz-xcGb7LXuUilm_zSQOpvOLkfWE70MkYiZme2pSucWIJuIPpeBtnbTvDRLLK61fhzJHC6jQIg7Eip2Wo-ZrY/s400/jeron+lewis+remembered.jpg

So why should USI move into Roberts Stadium? For many reasons including the following...

1. Roberts Stadium is a major upgrade over PAC Arena which can now serve as the Eagles practice facility.

2. Roberts Stadium is already constructed so USI can move in right away (Although a small renovation may be needed to raise the floor).

3. Roberts Stadium is PAID OFF. No need for USI to take on anymore debt. This is huge for USI if they are going to make the jump to Division I.

4. USI can build a botanical garden next door which will generate research dollars for the university. This will work perfectly with their New Harmony projects.

5. USI and Evansville will now have 2 great arenas to offer up to the NCAA as a host site for both the GLVC men's basketball tournament and the NCAA Div II men's basketball tournament. Talk about a perfect use of the Innkeepers Tax!

6. USI and Roberts Stadium are only separated by one road- The Lloyd Expressway.

7. Turoni's is a proud sponsor of USI basketball. This move will help both Turoni's (Forget-Me-Not location) and Kipplee's who stand to lose a lot of business from the closing of Roberts Stadium.

8. With Roberts Stadium, we can also move a NBDL team to go with the Aces (indoor soccer and football as well). This would be a good recruiting tool for USI.

9. With Roberts Stadium, USI can sponsor/host a SIAC high school men's basketball tournament(s) as well as college basketball tournament(s). This too will be a good recruiting tool for USI as well as UE.

10. With Roberts Stadium, the Ford Center, and PAC Arena, we will have plenty of venues to work out our scheduling conflicts. Last year, UE had to use PAC Arena for their men's basketball post season games due to Roberts Stadium being filled with another event.

I can go on and on about the advantages of USI moving their basketball games to Roberts Stadium, but I think you get the point and the idea of how golden of an opportunity we have here to upgrade USI men's basketball.

Not only would we be upgrading USI, we would also be upgrading the city of Evansville's sports profile with USI competing in Division I. I also feel like this move would put pressure on KWC and Owensboro to build their new arena and upgrade the Panthers to Division I as well. Wouldn't that be great for the Tri-State to have 3 Division I teams!

Where would the Eagles go?

Once more, there are a few realistic options they can explore...

The Missouri Valley Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Valley_Conference

The Horizon League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizon_League

The Ohio Valley Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Valley_Conference

The Summit League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Summit_League

The Sun Belt Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbelt_Conference

How would I see it playing out? I'll rank the leagues

5. The Horizon League- It would be a good conference for the Eagles but I just don't see the conference taking on a former Division II team. The Horizon League prefers to pluck Division I schools from other conferences instead.

4. The Missouri Valley Conference- With the Aces already in the MVC, there is little to no chance the MVC would take the Eagles. Yes, it would make for a nice rivalry, it would reduce traveling costs, and the MVC is a non-football conference (sort of), but adding USI gives the MVC very little additional fans as they are already in the Evansville market. To cut the pie an additional slice for USI, the MVC would want USI to give them something they don't already have which they can't.

3. The Sun Belt Conference- The amount of travel required for the Eagles to be in the Sun Belt Conference would prove to be hectic for a team fresh in the Division I rankings. It would give the Eagles a nice rivalry with WKU but the Sun Belt Conference probably doesn't want a university that doesn't play football.

2. The Ohio Valley Conference- The OVC would be a good fit for the Eagles as all but one of the conferences teams are in nearby Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. The Eagles would also be back in the same conference as SIU-Edwardsville and could form a nice rivalry with Murray State. The problem is, is that the conference is at 11 teams and needs one more. Belmont is scheduled to take that 12th slot next year. Unless 1 or more teams bolts, or the OVC decides to make Northern Kentucky and USI a package deal, I wouldn't look for the OVC to expand anytime soon.

1. The Summit League- The Summit League, like the Sun Belt Conference, would require a lot of traveling for USI, but would still be a much better fit than the other four conferences. With the Summit League, USI would be back in the same conference as IUPU-Fort Wayne. They would also have a nice rivalry with the IUPUI Jaguars. Next year, Southern Utah will leave the league while the University of Nebraska- Omaha will enter the league. This will keep traveling costs down while creating the opportunity for USI to establish a rivalry with UNO like UE has with fellow Omaha school Creighton. Lastly, the Summit League is at 10 teams, they will need 2 more to get to that magical number of 12 that every conference needs to stabilize itself.

Would USI give Roberts Stadium strong consideration for their new home? Would USI consider moving up to Division I? If they did, what conference would they join? Nobody but the USI athletic department knows the answers to those questions. But one thing we do know for sure is that Roberts Stadium and the USI Screaming Eagles are a perfect match.

Several years ago, USI took the bold steps of breaking away from Indiana State University. They then took the bold step of hiring Bruce Pearl. Are they now willing to take the next bold step of moving into Roberts Stadium and into Division I basketball?

Let's do what is best for Roberts Stadium, USI, the city of Evansville, and the Tri-State as a whole. Let's move USI into Roberts Stadium!


(alumni.usi.edu)

"Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Gloom Of Night"

(carleton.edu)

"Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds".

That has been the unofficial motto of the postal service for over 2500 years when it was coined by the Greek historian Herodotus. But if you visit sports facilities around the country, especially arenas, you will see that this motto can apply to sports venues and walkers, joggers, and cyclists as well.

A few days ago, Mr. Raj Mangal put this in the comments section of the post talking about making Roberts Stadium a recreational facility...

"The visit has gotten me to thinking, wouldn't this be a great permanent use for Roberts Stadium? Wouldn't it be nice to go inside the stadium to relax, walk, or jog on rainy days."

Indeed it is a good idea, and indeed it should be implemented on non-event days. For those who have been following this blog, you know that I talked about Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (The Swamp) doing this exact same thing in Gainesville, Florida. On non-event days, The Swamp is a park that is open from dusk to dawn. All they ask is that you don't go on the field.

Just last weekend, I was able to go inside Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana after an IU football game that was played next door at Memorial Stadium. The doors were left open so that fans could walk the halls and shop at the team store which was on the same level as the court.

On your way to the team store you pass through a hall (quite fitting for Assembly Hall) which is lined with photos after photos of all the greats who have worn the IU basketball jersey. I'm not an IU fan but that was quite impressing. Inside Assembly Hall, I was not alone. Many Penn State fans had made the trip down from Happy Valley, PA and wanted to see this great facility as well.

Many facilities around the country allow you do this same thing. The following are sports facilities that I have walked up to on non-events and was allowed to walk through the facility at my own discretion...

Assembly Hall- Bloomington, Indiana
(cardcow.com)

The Swamp- Gainesville, Florida
(gatorzone.com)

Allen Fieldhouse- Lawrence, Kansas
(kuathletics.com)

The Old National Guard Armory (birthplace of the Lakers)- Minneapolis, Minnesota
(groundspeak.com)

Mackey Arena- West Lafayette, Indiana
(mikehulsebus.com)

Cameron Indoor Stadium- Durham, North Carolina
(ezramagazine.cornell.edu)

Dean Smith Center- Chapel Hill, North Carolina
(http://uncdeansdome.blogspot.com/)

Memorial Coliseum- Lexington, Kentucky
(zvents.com)

Compaq Center (now a church)- Houston, Texas
(swamplot.com)

Bronco Stadium- Boise, Idaho
(image.cdnl3.xosnetwork.com)

Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion- Seattle, Washington
(gohuskies.com)

Cincinnati Gardens- Cincinnati, Ohio
(www.musiccleveland.com)

TD Garden- Boston, Massachusetts
(basketball.ballparks.com)

Bosse Field- Evansville, Indiana
(ticketini.com)

The list can go on and on but I think you get the idea. There is no reason to put Roberts Stadium on lockdown which it currently is. Of all the facilities I just mentioned, zero of them have what we have with Roberts Stadium- a connection to the Greenway.

Unlike the facilities above, Roberts Stadium has a golden opportunity to be the indoor trail hub for our greenway. We already have the Shirley James Trail Head which looks nothing short of amazing, but we don't have an indoor trail hub which is problematic. Where will Greenway patrons go when it rains, snows, or starts getting dark? The answer is very simple- they will head for the couch instead.

With the Greenway scheduled to come through Wesselman Park and the State Hospital grounds, there is no reason why Roberts Stadium's main level cannot have an indoor walkway on it. This will be beneficial to our city for several reasons...

1. It will encourage more people to utilize the Greenway on days that aren't nice outside.

2. This will allow those who walk and jog around the mall to have a designated area to walk and job instead of being in shoppers' way. We can add an Aces team store, a coffee shop, and other small stores around the main level to take advantage of this foot traffic.

3. As Greenway patrons walk around Roberts Stadium, they can read about Evansville'
s history at Roberts Stadium.

4. Encouraging residents to walk and jog around Roberts Stadium will help reduce vandalism on non-event days.

5. A walkway inside of Roberts Stadium will compliment the small park with two statues outside of it which would be located on the southwest corner of the stadium.

6. It will bring more residents past Kipplee's who is going to lose a lot of foot traffic when the new arena opens up.

7. The stadium is already there, why not use it?

We've heard from those who support demolition that they want to see a park on the lot. But why build another dull and boring park that would stand out like a sore thumb next to a virgin forest? And why build another dull and boring park when we can't keep the ones we got clean? Lastly, why build a park when we can use Roberts Stadium as an indoor walkway with an outdoor pavilion attached to it?

Like I've said earlier, we can all win with this project. Those who want to improve the Greenway have the opportunity to do so. Those who want to improve the ball fields in town may do so at Kleymeyer Park. Those who want a new natatorium may do so at Hartke Pool. Those who want to improve Wesselman Woods may do so with the back lot and side lot north of Roberts Stadium. And those who want to save Roberts Stadium, like you and I, may do so by raising the floor and filling the dates with mid-sized tenants.

This building has the opportunity to be a lot of things to a lot of people. Why don't we save Roberts Stadium and leave the main level open on non-event days for Greenway patrons? PUT ROBERTS STADIUM ON THE GREENWAY!
(evansvillegov.org)

Why A Natatorium Is Better Next To Roberts Stadium Not Inside Roberts Stadium

(radisson.com)

Since the Roberts Stadium debate has been ongoing, one idea being thrown around for Roberts Stadium is to convert it to a natatorium. In fact, a swimming pool was one of the 11 original ideas I put on this blog for consideration.

But after careful review, I have come to the conclusion that a natatorium is just not a good idea for many reasons. I am willing to support any solution that keeps Roberts Stadium standing, but I do not believe that an aquatic center is the best idea moving forward for Roberts Stadium. However, I do feel that a natatorium should be built in the complex and I will explain why.

The important thing to remember about the entire Roberts Stadium debate is that this process should not just be about what to do with Roberts Stadium. Rather, this process is about what to do to improve both Roberts Stadium and Wesselman Park as well as the city of Evansville at-large.

For this reason, I have done tossed out the idea that the ball fields complex should be designed to replicate smaller versions of vintage MLB ball fields and they should be placed at Kleymeyer Park. Every day it seems, we are hearing one phony politician after another tell us that they want a committee for Roberts Stadium, yet they have spent zero time evaluating the entire picture such as where to place the ball fields. There's your answer to how serious they are about this project.

With the ball fields located at Kleymeyer Park (and I have yet to see any proposal that trumps building them next to historic Bosse Field), the discussion should then shift to what to do with legendary Roberts Stadium as well as the Wesselman Park complex around it.

First of all, as those who visit this blog regularly know, the very obvious and simple solution to fix Roberts Stadium is too simply raise the floor and fill the event dates with indoor soccer, indoor football, NBDL basketball, mid-sized concerts, small trade shows, and other miscellaneous events. In my opinion, this is really not a hard concept to grasp, yet we have political candidate after political candidate who lets this idea sail straight over their head(s) (which is why it is important to vote for those on the right).

Outside of this simple plan, which I have already identified an owner of 2 + teams who is willing to relocate to Roberts Stadium, I can only think of one other idea that has been considered for Roberts Stadium. That idea is to place a natatorium inside the arena.

Before I tell you why there is a much better location for the natatorium, it is important to understand what it is and why it won't work. For those who don't know, a natatorium is basically just an Olympic style pool with qualifying lanes down the middle of it. The pool can have diving boards, locker rooms, and hot tubs around it. Right now, Lloyd Pool on the north side is our natatorium.

So why will a natatorium not work inside of Roberts Stadium?

1. Engineers I have spoken too indicate the humidity from the pool will rot away Roberts Stadium's structure. Thus, we would be demolishing the venue ourselves over a course of time.

2. Engineers I have spoken too have indicated that to avoid this problem you would have to "Build a building within a building." This could get quite expensive and would be much more expensive than simply raising the floor and fixing the arena up.

3. A natatorium may not solve the need to raise the floor back up.

With that being said, I still believe a natatorium belongs in the Wesselman Park complex. Like I have said to those who want to see some kind of park on the lot, we can all win if we design this complex correctly. We probably won't have the funding to build it all at once, but if we lay out a phase by phase plan with strict mandates, we will get there within the next 10 years, that I am certainly confident in.

If you look at an aerial view of Roberts Stadium and the surrounding area...

http://media.courierpress.com/media/img/photos/2010/10/12/20101012-234710-pic-991425034_t607.jpg

You will see the Hartke Pool complex in the bottom left corner of the photo. According to those in the know, Hartke Pool is in a terrible condition and something must be done with it. Instead of converting Roberts Stadium into a natatorium, why don't we kill two birds with one stone? In fact, why don't we kill THREE birds with one stone? What do I mean by that?

If you recall, initial studies for Roberts Stadium after the decision to build a new arena suggested that Roberts Stadium could be an indoor water park resort...

http://www.thetrentiniteam.com/real_estate_blog/view/451/advisory_board_considers_future_of_roberts_stadium

What is an indoor water park resort? Simply put, an indoor water park resort is a facility that contains BOTH an indoor water park and a small to medium sized hotel inside the same building. The closest indoor water park resort to Evansville is Big Splash Water Adventure in French Lick, Indiana...

http://www.bigsplashadventure.com/

Here's some more...

http://www.greatwolf.com/

Although an indoor water park resort is by far the most expensive option compared to an outdoor water park and an indoor natatorium, it is also the most promising option for turning a profit, drawing tourists, and finding a private business owner to partner with the city. If we build a facility that houses an indoor water park, an indoor natatorium, an indoor resort, and possibly an outdoor park, we will enjoy the following benefits...

1. We will be able to close Lloyd Pool and replace Hartke Pool at the same time.

2. If we close Hartke Pool but don't build a water park on the lot, we will be left with another dull parking lot. This plan erases that problem.

3. Hotel Guests get to enjoy a basic pool, an indoor water park, as well as an outdoor water park for the price of one, while the locals still get to use their natatorium or outdoor park (We will need to keep the complexes divided for admission charge purposes).

4. We will have a hotel directly across the parking lot from Roberts Stadium. This will go a long ways in attracting small basketball, indoor football, indoor soccer, and youth sports tournaments as well as premier mid-sized concerts and trade shows. This resort will also boost attendance at Swonder Ice Rink.

5. This development will allow us to bring recreation to Wesselman Park while avoiding any destruction of the nature preserve itself.

6. This plan will allow us to keep the name Hartke Pool which is the correct and ethical thing to do since we agreed to honor former mayor Vance Hartke with our swimming pool complex.

7. City maintenance crews can take advantage of both facilities at one time.

Several years ago, mayor Russ Lloyd Jr. took the bold move of building a new Swonder Ice Rink and demolishing the old complex. Now, we need to do the same exact thing with Harke Pool. Although I'm unsure if it would be completed all at one time even if we were able to close Lloyd Pool and replace Hartke Pool at the same time (just look at the Big E fiasco), we still would be able to complete it in phases.

The process should go something like this...

1. The current Hartke Pool complex is demolished.

2. A new outdoor version of Hartke Pool is constructed on the exact same plot.

3. At the same time, an adjacent indoor natatorium is constructed between Hartke Pool and Swonder Ice Rink. Locker Rooms are built between the two facilities so that guests can take advantage of both water parks.

4. Once a private investor is identified, an indoor water park and resort are constructed next to the natatorium and Swonder Ice Rink. Guests who pay for at least one night at the hotel resort get free admission to all three parks and can then utilize the already constructed locker rooms inside the natatorium. Locals who can't afford anything more than the basic rates currently at Lloyd Pool or Hartke Pool don't have to purchase a ticket to the indoor water park resort or a night's hotel.

5. Swimming complex is complete. Everyone is happy.

If you've been to Hartke Pool, Lloyd Pool or any other around town, you know that we desperately need this type of swimming complex. But the important thing to remember is that this facility belongs next to Roberts Stadium, not inside Roberts Stadium.

Roberts Stadium is designed for basketball, concerts, and recreational sports. Let's keep this tradition alive. At the same time, let's make sure everyone wins. Build the swimming complex on the current Hartke Pool lot!

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