(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!
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