Thank You Mayor Winnecke..... THANK YOU!

It's the middle of the night, my head is hurting, my throat is sore, my lungs are congested, and my entire body is weak all over. However, my mindset is of nothing but jubilation while my adrenaline is flowing. My night has just begun in my pursuit to save a venue that has been there for so many people for so many years and is still proving that it has a lot of financially beneficial years left in it.

At this current time, I am reminded of a quote from Louisville Cardinals Basketball Coach Rick Pitino that is plastered on a wall inside their brand new arena...

Indeed, those who work the hardest are the last to surrender, and today we've made it past one more obstacle as Mayor Winnecke has taken the bold and correct step of refusing to accept the ECVB's plan to put ball fields on the Roberts Stadium footprint. Even better is the fact that I myself couldn't have said it any better...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/feb/28/no-headline---ev_ballparks/

""The idea of a softball/baseball complex near Roberts Stadium was thoroughly debated last year, and the community came to the consensus that the Roberts Stadium property was not the best location for the development," he said.

"While I believe a complex such as the one proposed would be of great recreational value and would benefit the city economically, I am not in favor of locating it within the footprint of Roberts Stadium.""

Before I dive into my thoughts moving forward, I just want to say how grateful, thankful, and humbled I am that Mayor Winnecke would take this position. It seems like the previous administration could not have recycled this terrible plan any more times than they did. In my meeting with Mayor Winnecke last November, Lloyd said exactly what he said today.

It is great to see that 3 months later Mayor Winnecke is living up to his promise. It's also great to see Mayor Winnecke taking the open minded approach to Roberts Stadium. Back in 2010, I emailed all three County Commissioners- Lloyd Winnecke, Steve Melcher, and Troy Tornatta. Of the three, Lloyd was the ONLY one to email me back and set up a meeting with me. Today, our whole entire city should now be proud of who we have serving us in the mayor's office.

So while those who support building the ball fields or a green space have settled in for the night and are deep in their sleep, I am arranging my next round of people I want to talk to about Roberts Stadium. Just this past week, I have talked to the following organizations...

- USI
- The Evansville Crush
- The Evansville Rage
- SMG

I have also visited Western Rib-Eye and Kipplee's to get their opinion on Roberts Stadium (I will talk about this in a post later this week). It is important to understand that all of these organizations do believe that scaling Roberts Stadium down to a mid-sized arena is the correct approach, and all organizations are interested in the facility in some capacity.

And according to all of these organizations, I am the first person to talk to them about Roberts Stadium. Therefore, we are blazing a new trail and designing a financial plan for Roberts Stadium that will allow this venerable old facility to remain solvent for years to come. That's what I am committed to doing at this hour and until the day I can no longer fight for Roberts Stadium.

Many years ago, Hank Roberts put his entire career on the line. Ralph Legeman spent many sleepless hours ( I can appreciate this) and in the end, they crafted a plan for an arena that would come to be known as Roberts Stadium. In the end, it cost Mayor Roberts his political career as mayor of Evansville, but he did it anyways because he wanted what's best for Evansville.

I am very fortunate and blessed to have a healthy body. I can walk, talk, breathe, and  I have no physical handicaps whatsoever. There are so many people in this community and in this world who are less privileged physically yet have given so much more to their community than I can ever do in a lifetime. The least I can do is fight for an arena that has served so many people throughout so many years including those who lost everything the day the Aces plane crashed. I am committed to representing all those who Roberts Stadium has served.

As for Mr. Warren and the ECVB, I just want to say, I have all the respect in the world for you which is 180 degrees from how I felt about David Dunn and the previous ECVB. But, the words of Nick Nolte in the film Blue Chips sums up my current words for you...

(Warning: Extreme Language, Viewers Discretion Is Advised)

Mr. Warren, it really is true, you can get through life and you can run the ECVB by recycling half-baked ideas from Dunn and Company all you want. You can chop up a plan that is nothing but 8 dull and boring ball fields into a plan that is even worse on a plot of land that ball fields have no business being on. You can advocate for this plan year in and year out even though it serves the least and hurts the most city residents.

But, YOU CANNOT AND YOU WILL NOT WIN LIKE THAT. By your own admissions, you admit that your plan is a regional plan not a national plan. I want to ask you these basic questions, and I challenge you to seriously consider each and every one of them.

(Note: I will post a response if I get one).

1. Do you believe that these fields belong at Kleymeyer Park which is directly across from Bosse Field where baseball history is as rich as it gets?

2. You have said earlier in previous discussions that this plot of land wasn't sufficient given that it's on a landfill and the previous ECVB has told you it won't work. Have you personally gone out to the site, had an engineer look at it, and/or talked to the people in the surrounding district about it? Or did you take this belief at face value from David Dunn who has overstated the condition of Roberts Stadium and is questioned by some local residents for having visitor estimates that are way too high?

3. If you still don't believe Kleymeyer Park is suitable, how do you explain these same scare tactics going on in Fresh Kills, NY (bottom: http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/02/apparently-dunn-hospitality-does.html) and how do you explain Mt. Trashmore in Virginia which was emailed to me today by SRS supporter Adam Williams?...

http://www.virginia.org/Listings/OutdoorsAndSports/MountTrashmorePark/

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

4. Given that Don Mattingly's youth baseball field is in Garvin Park, Bosse Field is the third oldest active ballpark, AND Bosse Field was the site of the film, " A League of Their Own," don't you believe that these fields should be constructed to represent vintage MLB ballparks?

5. If you don't, how do you explain Big League Dreams doing theirs taxpayer free?...

http://www.bigleaguedreams.com/replica-fields
http://www.bigleaguedreams.com/corporate/park-development

How do you explain Ripken Academy which is in Cal Ripken Jr's hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland and features ball fields that replicate Camden Yards, Wrigley Field, and many many more?

http://ripkentournaments.com/aberdeenfacilities.cfm

How do you explain Cooperstown, NY building by the Major League Baseball HOF and Dyersville, IA building by the site of the movie "Field of Dreams?"....

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/12/dyersville-iowa-aberdeen-maryland.html


6. A few weeks ago, you were excited about the GLVC Baseball Tournament coming to Bosse Field. You even estimated an economic impact of $800,000...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/02/apparently-dunn-hospitality-does.html

Given this belief, don't you think we should invest in the area around Bosse Field? Don't you think we should work with the Otters so that they can open their concession stands up on non-game days for youth baseball championship games?

7. If you do not believe we should invest in Bosse Field and the area around it, what really is your plan for the district? Do you support leaving it as is? Last week, I drove through the area and saw kids throwing rocks at an abandoned warehouse. Don't you think we should clean that up with our ball fields project?

8. Don't you think the economic impact for the ball fields at Kleymeyer is greater than if they were put in the county or on the Roberts Stadium lot which is land locked from the east side? Don't you think we should invest in North Main Street and our soon to be built downtown hotel which will get taxpayer subsidies?

9. As for Roberts Stadium, have you looked into the economic impact of mid-sized sports facilities and events such as Evansville Crush tournaments like the Hoosier Cup, USI preseason and postseason tournaments like the GLVC Tournament, and traveling BMX Tournaments that have netted as much as $10 million?

10. Don't you think it's bad for Evansville to be a one trick pony with Ford Center premier events only? Don't you think we should take the advice of the above sports organizations who believe a mid-sized arena is a great economic tool to have like so many other cities already have?

11. Don't you think a mid-sized events center, which brings in tourists by the 1,000s is a better investment than a green space that can already be found at the State Hospital Grounds?

12. Don't you think that a comprehensive plan which would be a long range master plan that would include green space in the back lot, a water park and natatorium with a renovated Hartke Pool, and a BMX only/ expo hall, along with a mid-sized Roberts Stadium is the only way that we can make everyone happy and diversify our investments into projects that will attract a wide array of tourists?

13. Wouldn't you say that the few thousand seats that would be removed in a Roberts Stadium renovation should be placed in the ball fields project?

And why do you want to put your plan on the backs of the Parks Dept?...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/jun/20/special-report-evansville-parks-department-isnt/

And how would your new growth forest with your ball fields work with Wesselman Park which is an old growth forest?

14. Wouldn't you say that an arena with only minor roof repairs, and floor in need of being raised is a good investment when initial estimates have pegged those renovations well under a million dollars?

15. Lastly, is your vision to be an ECVB Director that gets things going the right direction, maximizing project benefits, and listening to the people, or is your vision just to be David Dunn version 2.0?

Mr. Warren, I am rooting very hard for you to turn this around. Dang it, I'm here to win and win big time. I'm ready to get engineers looking at Kleymeyer Park, I'm ready to talk to the Otters about helping them out financially, and I'm ready to get the specs for 8 ball fields that would represent various MLB ballparks of the past. I'm ready to talk to Don Mattingly and Major League Baseball who have a deep history of working with these kinds of projects. I'm ready to revitalize an area that hasn't seen a single development project in years, yet continues to give us great things like the GLVC Baseball Tournament.

I'm also ready to put heads in beds by the thousands via a mid-sized Roberts Stadium. I'm ready to take advantage of the opportunity Mayor Winnecke has given me by taking Evansville to the next level. I sure hope you're in Mr. Warren.

In the meantime, THANK YOU Mayor Winnecke for standing up for an arena that I have put all of my heart, soul, and energy into these past 19 months.

We Should All Be Living On Tulsa Time

This past week, the ECVB has asked us to turn back our clocks. They want us to turn back the clock just a few years to when our city was at an all-time low. They want us to revisit a ball fields plan that was championed by David Dunn, a member of the ECVB who couldn't have cared any less about Roberts Stadium. Even worse was the ball fields plan he drew up to replace this iconic structure.

Why the ECVB wants us to revisit a half-baked plan that they themselves are half-baking is beyond me. I am embarrassed to live in a city where our officials think building 8 boring, dull, and generic ball fields next to a nature preserve is a good idea. Sorry ECVB, we are already DUNN with that time period.

If we truly want to use Roberts Stadium and its surrounding area as a place that will allow Evansville to compete with the rest of the nation, we have no choice but to set our clocks forward to Tulsa Time.

Tulsa, whose 2009 MSA had roughly 929,015 residents  and is comparable to the 911,613 residents in our 30 county Tri-State Area, is going in the opposite direction than we are. In fact, they have now lapped us in the arena industry, and they don't appear to be looking in their rear view mirror.

The sports arena industry arrived in Tulsa in the 1930s with the construction of the Expo Square Pavilion...



Sometimes called simply The Pavilion, and formerly known as the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, the arena seats 6,311.

It was built in 1932; the architect was Leland I Shumway. The building is in the PWA Art Deco style, built of blond brick with terra cotta ornamentation, and is considered one the prime examples of Art Deco architecture in Tulsa.

It was home to the Tulsa Oilers Central Hockey League team, during the 1960s and the Tulsa 66ers, of the NBA Development League, until they moved to the SpiritBank Event Center in 2008.

Today, the arena hosts

Concerts 

Fundraising Galas

Sporting Events

Agriculture Shows

Meetings

Tulsa decided they needed a new arena and convention center as well when they constructed the Tulsa Convention Center & Arena, which seats 8,900 patrons, in 1964...



In previous years, the facility was home to the Central Hockey League Tulsa Oilers ice hockey team and to the Tulsa Talons, an af2 arena football team. It hosted the Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game in 1982 and 1984-87. It was also the home to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball team.

Since the opening of these two facilities, FOUR new arenas have been built in the Tulsa region. Initially, the city thought they would have to tear down the arena part of the Tulsa Convention Center. They were wrong as this facility still stands today. Let's take a look at the four arenas that have been built since 1964 and what tenants still call the Tulsa Convention Center Arena home...

Mabee Center- Built: 1972



The Mabee Center, an outstanding collegiate arena, has been home to the Golden Eagles since 1972. The arena bears the name of John and Lottie Mabee, who established the Tulsa-based Mabee Foundation in 1948. Mabee Center was built as an elliptical cable-suspension structure with basketball in mind. The arena has 10,575 permanent theater seats - with no obstacles to clear viewing. Recently, four luxury suites were added on the south side or directly behind the team benches.

The splendid viewing and playing areas have drawn nine different national tournaments since the building opened. The Golden Eagles themselves played in the first NCAA tournament held here in 1974. Four other NCAA regionals (1975, 1978, 1982 and 1985) have been based at the Mabee Center. The National Invitation Tournament picked ORU as host four times (1977, 1980, 1982 and 1983). Mabee Center also annually hosts the Oklahoma state high school playoffs and the Oklahoma Coaches Association All-Star games. It was also the former site of the NAIA National Basketball Championship.

Mabee Center regularly plays host to various conventions, conferences, seminars, and special events such as the annual Miss Oklahoma pageant. In the past, Mabee Center has hosted such top-name per formers Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Reba McEntire and Blue Man Group.

An adjacent building, smaller but similar in shape, is known as "Baby Mabee" and houses a television production studio.

Reynolds Center- Built: 1998



With a capacity of 8,355, the Reynolds Center opened in 1998 and is named for Donald W. Reynolds. It is home to the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball and volleyball teams who previously played their games at the Tulsa Convention Center Arena. It hosted the 2001-03 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournaments.

BOK Center- Built: 2008



The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,100-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar events, the facility was built at a cost of $178 million in public funds and an additional $18 million in privately-funded upgrades.

Designed by César Pelli, the architect of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, the BOK Center is the flagship project of Tulsa County's Vision 2025 long-range development initiative. The arena is managed and operated by SMG and named for the Bank of Oklahoma, which purchased naming rights for $11 million.

Current permanent tenants are the Tulsa OilersCentral Hockey League and the Tulsa Shock of the Women's National Basketball AssociationThe facility will also host NBA preseason games and college basketball matchups on a regular basis and seek to attract national and regional sporting tournaments.

SpiritBank Event Center- Built: 2008



The SpiritBank Event Center is a 4,500 seat multi-purpose arena and convention center in Bixby, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa.

Since opening in 2008 it has been the site of numerous concerts and events, including ZZ Top, Stone Temple Pilots, Jason Mraz, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Chris Tomlin. In December 2008, it became the new home of the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League.

With all of these new arenas in their inventory, the city of Tulsa thought it was a sure bet that they would have to demolish the arena part of their convention center. To their surprise, they were wrong. Not only did the Tulsa Convention Center Arena avoid the wrecking ball, it was actually renovated so that it now has the following...

· Competitive rental pricing
· Brand new stage
· Rigging capabilities end-to-end
· 4 backstage dressing rooms, 2 with showers
· Production room
· New green room with seating area
· 2 completely renovated locker rooms
· 6 event suites overlooking the Arena

As a result of Tulsa's investment, the NBDL's Tulsa 66ers moved into the facility in 2009. Why didn't they move into the newly constructed BOK Center next door?

http://www.dailythunder.com/2009/09/questions-and-answers-with-tulsa-66ers-president-jim-brylewski/

DT: Are there any aspirations to ever move to the BOK Center?

JB: Right now, from a financial standpoint, what the other teams pay in rent is not feasible from a cost standpoint.

The above comment sums up best why Tulsa is growing while Evansville is dying. The city leaders of Tulsa understand that the more facilities you have the more tenants you can bring to your city as not tenants want a brand new state-of-the-art arena. They understand that their facilities don't compete against each other, they compete against other cities.

If we are going to turn the tide on Evansville's annual loss of population, we have to think like Tulsa. We have to understand that we will attract more tenants, more events, and more economic development to our region by having a mid-sized and a premier arena to offer our clients.

Tulsa is growing because they have a facility for all teams, events, and meetings of all shapes and sizes not demolishing them for dull, boring, and generic ball fields. It's about time that Tulsa Time came to Evansville. IT'S ABOUT TIME WE SAVED ROBERTS STADIUM!

What If This Happened In Evansville?

There's an old saying that goes like the following...

"Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan."

No other saying sums up Evansville best. Since the late 1950's/early 1960's, Evansville has been an urban planning nightmare. In successful cities across the U.S, you will find the following characteristics...

1. Zoning laws reflect containment of urban sprawl.

2. Green spaces are built into development projects not instead of development projects.

3. Downtown is walkable instead of being dominated by the automobile.

4. Capital improvement projects are designed to be constructed in phases in order to maximize their potential.

5. All public venues are packaged together jointly as a marketing tool to recruit businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Aside from the fact that Evansville is 0-for-5 in the above 5 categories, point #5 sticks out most to me as it will become a major Achilles heal to Evansville if Roberts Stadium is demolished.

We've talked about how other cities use mid-sized arenas to tailor to teams, events, and gatherings that can't quite afford a luxurious and premier arena but still need a decent sized arena.

We talked about Portland, Oregon using their two arenas to bid for the Dew Tour...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/01/we-can-learn-lot-from-portland-oregon.html

We've talked about Sioux Falls, SD planning to use their current Sioux Falls Arena as a place for mid-sized events once the Sioux Falls Events Center opens up...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/12/sioux-falls-south-dakota-well-go-with-2.html

We talked about Nashville letting their two venues bid for similiar events in order to get the best deal...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/07/nashville-did-right-thing.html

And we've talked about Omaha using their Civic Auditorium as a recruiting tool for teams looking to make their way into the bigger and newer Century Link Center...

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

We also talked about the Pepsi Coliseum/ Bankers Life Field House situation in Indianapolis as well as compile a whole entire list of other mid-sized arenas around the country...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/02/list-of-arenas-demolition-supporters.html

All of the above cities are 180 degrees different than Evansville. None of those cities pit their own venues against each other in a civil war. Rather, all of the above cities combine all of their venues as a package deal so that they have more economic weapons in their arsonry against other competing cities.

Just this past month, we saw yet another city reap the rewards of successful arena planning. Since 1973, the city of Louisville, Kentucky has hosted a men's and women's high school basketball all-star game called the Derby Classic. Over the years, many great NCAA and NBA stars have passed through this game. As a result of its overwhelming success, the Derby Classic is now the oldest high school basketball all-star game in the country.

In 2011, the Derby Classic decided to follow the University of Louisville in moving out of historic Freedom Hall and into the newly built KFC Yum! Center. Losing both U of L Basketball and the Derby Classic were huge setbacks for the financial viability of Freedom Hall. If Evansville were in this position, they would have quickly demolished Freedom Hall in fear of it competing with the KFC Yum! Center.

Fortunately, Louisville had a different mindset...

http://www.wdrb.com/global/story.asp?s=12066448

- ""The new arena is going to be great, they're going to enjoy that, but you know, freedom hall is just a wonderful facility," said Harold Workman, Kentucky State Fair Board."

- ""We still have well over 100 events that happen there, and those dates are going to be very good for a lot of the various concerts and things like trade shows that have not been able to get in there," said Harold Workman, Kentucky State Fair Board."

- "Concert promoters are already looking at Freedom Hall, because Workman says it will be a lot cheaper to rent and said an event that would cost $12,000 at Freedom Hall, will cost you $35,000 at the new downtown arena."

Louisville did exactly what I'm trying to do such as...

1. Recruit another college basketball team to play at least some of their games at Roberts Stadium.

2. Fill the dates up with mid-sized events that cannot afford the new Ford Center.

3. Market the historic value of Roberts Stadium to the public.

Louisville's forward thinking in preserving Freedom Hall is going to pay huge dividends this year. You see, there is a now a major problem with the Derby Classic at the KFC Yum! Center...

http://www.wave3.com/story/16489651/ncaa-rules-moves-derby-classic-back-to-freedom-hall

"NCAA Bylaw 13.11.1.8, which was proposed in 2009 and adopted in April, 2011, states that a Division I school isn't allowed to host, sponsor or conduct a non-scholastic basketball practice or competition. Because the University of Louisville mens' basketball team plays and practices at the KFC Yum! Center, the Derby Festival Basketball Classic cannot be held at that facility.

"While we had a great experience last year at the YUM! Center, we are fortunate in this community to have a facility such as Freedom Hall to host our game," said Mike Berry, President & CEO of the Kentucky Derby Festival. "Freedom Hall had been the primary location of the Basketball Classic for more than 35 years, and we are enthusiastic about returning to this facility, which has a rich history in Louisville.""

Could something like this happen here in Evansville? You bet. The University of Evansville is a Division I school like U of L. Therefore, none of these high school competitions can be held at the Ford Center. The only way we are going to get any high school basketball tournaments to come to Evansville is if we maintain Roberts Stadium as a mid-sized arena like Freedom Hall.

High school basketball tournaments is just one of the events who would be run off by having only one venue. Remember the Tri-State Boat & Sport Show? Well, it was canceled in 2009 because their rent was too high...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/jan/17/boat-show-canceled/

At the time, Roberts Stadium was our premier arena and the boat show had no other place to go where they could put on their event for an affordable rent rate. We also lost the Evansville Bluecats because of the same reason. Even worse is the fact that we lost the GLVC Men's Basketball Tournament due to the lack of an affordable mid-sized arena. Downsizing Roberts Stadium to a mid-sized arena would now take care of this problem.

While Louisville was able to hold onto the Derby Classic because of their smart arena planning, Evansville has lost the boat show, the Evansville Bluecats, the GLVC Tournament, and many other events simply because our leaders want you to believe that the Ford Center and Roberts Stadium are competing against each other. This makes absolutely no sense as none of the above events stayed in Evansville to move into the Ford Center. They all left town for financial reasons.

We cannot afford to sit idle as other cities steal our mid-sized events. We cannot afford to fall victim to our political leaders who want to destroy a healthy and viable Roberts Stadium just because it doesn't fit into their political aspirations. Lastly, we cannot afford to maintain a civil war against ourselves while other cities are united in stealing our events.

As Louisville reloads, Evansville implodes. Let's stop this movement right now. LET'S SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!

Sorry ECVB, Evansville Doesn't Want Your Ball Fields Plan

greenwichroundup.blogspot.com

We've seen a lot things these past few weeks that make you want to scratch your head in disbelief. But today takes the cake as it is apparently Turn Back The Clock Day at the ECVB.

Make no mistake, I have all the respect in the world for Mr. Bob Warren. On the flip side, I have no respect, zero, for any of the past ECVB members most notably David Dunn who wanted us to believe that it would cost at least $500,000 a year to run Roberts Stadium which clearly isn't happening...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/01/as-roberts-stadium-comes-under-budget.html

So with that being said, I am shocked, baffled, amazed, and just flat out speechless to find out that Mr.Warren has sent the Roberts Stadium Task Force a letter endorsing construction of the ball fields on this land. Why would anyone from any organization want to build this project after the public vehemently spoke out against it for many reasons other than just money? Why would anyone trust the figures given by Dunn who vastly overstated the Roberts Stadium situation?

Those concerns are just a drop in the bucket amongst the many other concerns I have such as the following...

1. Why wasn't this plan brought to any of the public meetings? Isn't it too late?

2. If this plan is that great why was there next to no support for it during the public meetings?

3. If Roberts Stadium is demolished for a green space, how long will it be before this green space suddenly turns into a ball fields complex?

4. Is this why the Evansville City Council member from the 3rd Ward has suddenly changed her opinion on Roberts Stadium these past few months? How much of this plan has been discussed by our city leaders these past few months without the public knowing? And how involved has the previous ECVB and mayor's administration been in this project these past few months?

5. Why has the public NEVER EVER been allowed to discuss alternative sites for these ball fields? Why are we suppose to rely on David Dunn's investigation of other places like Kleymeyer Park?

What offends me the most about this plan is that it is now becoming apparent that no one in our government still understands how to build a national, not a regional, ball fields plan. I have talked until I'm blue in the face about the benefits of building at Kleymeyer such as the following...

- The ball fields would be designed to replicate vintage MLB ballparks. In fact, there is a company who already does this taxpayer free...

http://www.bigleaguedreams.com/corporate/park-development

- The ball fields would draw from a national market not a regional market because they would be competing with the ball fields complex built by Cal Ripken Jr. in Aberdeen, Maryland, the ball fields complex built in Cooperstown, New York, and the ball fields complex getting ready to be built in Dyersville, Iowa next to the Field of Dreams.

How can we compete with these complexes? By marketing Don Mattingly's youth baseball field, by marketing historic Bosse Field, and by marketing the film "A League of Their Own."

- The ball fields would be in a true "recovery zone."

- The ball fields would be straight down Main Street from the Ford Center and our soon to be built taxpayer subsidized hotel.

- The ball fields could use seats from Roberts Stadium when its floor is raised.

- The ball fields would allow the Otters to produce extra sponsorship revenue and concession stand revenue at Bosse Field on off days.

- The ball fields would be at the corner of Diamond & First, two baseball terms.

- The ball fields would be an instant cash cow for Bob Walthers' Golf-N-Fun.

- The ball fields, like the Wesselman Park plan, would be one road and the Lloyd Expressway away from the east side.

- The ball fields can tap into Kleymeyer Park's methane gas to generate its own electricity.

- The ball fields would allow us to take advantage of our already constructed Greenway.

Not only would we be enjoying these great perks from a ball fields project at Kleymeyer Park, we would also be enjoying many revenue generating events from Roberts Stadium. Let me very clear, if Roberts Stadium is demolished, we will probably never see...

- BMX Tours

- minor league basketball

- Evansville Rage Indoor Football in a competitive environment

- Evansville Crush Indoor Soccer in a place with room to grow

- Mid-sized concerts

- Professional indoor lacrosse

- Trade shows such as the Boat Show which has been gone from Evansville for some time now because there is no suitable venue

- The lost SMG jobs and the economic development for businesses such as Kipplee's, Turoni's, and Western Rib-Eye

- High school basketball tournaments that have made Indiana basketball second to none.

- College basketball tournaments with teams such as USI

- Anything that would involve USI Basketball such as the tournament games or regular season games, but most notably the GLVC tournament which would bring in $100,000 alone before even considering visitors following the tournament...

http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/article-7017-ncaa-basketball-comes-to-springfield.html

And you can also forget the intangible benefits such as...

- A disaster relief area

- An indoor Greenway Trail Hub

- A shuttle stop for the Ford Center

Is that what Evansville wants? I don't believe so as this town has displayed yard sign after sign expressing their opposition to the ball fields at Wesselman Park and their support for Roberts Stadium. This has also been displayed time and time again at every single public meeting that has been hosted about either of these topics.

It's important to understand that any political leader who goes down the ball fields path once more will be defeated next election. Any political leader who demolishes a healthy Roberts Stadium, which the public saw firsthand a few weeks ago and were outraged by Dave Rector's theatrics, will have a lot of explaining to do and the public won't be interested in hearing excuses.

Given all of that, I am fully committed to fighting the ball fields project on the Roberts Stadium site as I am deeply offended by this proposal and I imagine you are too. I, like you, am sick and tired of half baked ideas getting recycled over and over again while great ideas and projects such as Roberts Stadium never get the time or day from city leaders unless the whole town comes out and demands it (which is what has happened for Roberts Stadium. Thank you everyone!).

We have seen what the public thinks about the ball fields project. We have seen what the public wants for Roberts Stadium after rejecting Dave Rector's tour that only showed ticky-tack problems with Roberts Stadium. The only thing we haven't seen is a well drawn out and thought out plan for cleaning up and redeveloping the Bosse Field district by any political leader or ECVB official.

Sorry ECVB, the public doesn't want your ball fields project. They want Roberts Stadium!

dev.null.org

Roberts Stadium Advisory Board:"We should figure out how to involve USI in a new arena without being a detriment to UE."



Logo is property of the University of Southern Indiana

"We should figure out how to involve USI in a new arena without being a detriment to UE."

Those were the words written by Roberts Stadium Advisory Board Chairman Wayne Henning to then-mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel on May 19,2008. They can be found in the following link...

http://www.evansvillearenaproject.com/downloads/advisory_board_report.pdf

On page 4, Henning went on to write...

"Continue to explore expanded use by USI and other area groups."

USI was just one organization listed in the Roberts Stadium Advisory Boards 45 Facts. In August of last year, I talked about these facts and how some of them still apply today...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/08/3-years-later-facts-are-still-facts.html

Indeed, we have a golden opportunity to involve USI in a new arena without being a detriment to UE. It's called Roberts Stadium and this legendary icon is ready to do the task of carrying a NCAA Division II team up through the Division I ranks once more.
Rarely, if ever, does a Division II team have the opportunity to move into an arena that is already paid off, comes with 15 corporate luxury boxes, and has vacated all of its former tenants. USI will never have an opportunity like this again. Even better is the fact that Roberts Stadium would put the USI brand and image right in the middle of UE territory.

What makes moving USI into Roberts Stadium a no-brainer is the facts that the move hurts no one while helping both sides of town at the same time. How is this so?

- West side businesses will still reap the economic benefits of a USI game as motorists coming from Roberts Stadium to USI and vice versa will pass by their businesses.

- All business lost by Kipplee's, Turoni's, and Western Rib-Eye when the Aces moved will be recaptured by USI games.

- USI moving into Roberts Stadium will free up more time at PAC Arena for USI's other athletic teams.

- USI moving into Roberts Stadium will prevent the Eagles from having to spend tens of millions of dollars on a new arena or a renovation to PAC Arena. In turn, this money can be spent upgrading USI's other team facilities to Division I caliber.

For those who think this wouldn't be a good idea (I haven't met a person yet), what is your plan?

- Build USI a downtown arena? Can't, it would compete with the Ford Center.

- Move USI into the Ford Center? Can't, not enough open dates and the Ford Center is decked out in Aces attire.

- Build USI an arena on campus? Where would the funds come from? What TIF district would benefit from it?

- Renovate PAC? Why? How would you add corporate luxury boxes to a facility that is shaped like a traditional practice facility? Where would the funds come from and what TIF district would benefit?

Since day 1 of Roberts Stadium closing, we have been told that we need to look at this project with financial logic. Well, USI moving into Roberts Stadium is the only way USI can save tens of millions of dollars, it's the only way businesses around a USI arena can prosper, and it's the only way USI can instantly improve their brand image and awareness.

Saving Roberts Stadium by moving USI in. This is quite possibly the easiest decision the city of Evansville will ever have to make!

We Now Have The Chance To Fix An Error From 1994

Rarely do you ever get the chance to go back in time. No, I'm not talking about physically going back in time, rather, I am talking about getting a second chance, or a mulligan, at fixing a problem that occurred many years ago.

The year was 1994. Bill Clinton, who was midway through his first term, was battling the Republicans over health care (sound familiar?), Kurt Cobain, songwriter and frontman for the band Nirvana, was found dead at his Lake Washington home, apparently of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, and Major League Baseball went on a strike that would eventually cancel the 1994-1995 season entirely.

One thing that has been lost in the year 1994 with the locals was the current situation we had with our college basketball teams. Very few, if any, residents realize that we had a golden opportunity to promote one of our up and coming college basketball teams- the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. How could we have done this and why did we fail at it?

You see, the USI Screaming Eagles wanted to play at our beloved sports icon Roberts Stadium....

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=924908

As you read through the article you will see what stopped them- they couldn't afford to pay the rent at the time. Among many other things, having to scrunch the Eagles in with the Aces, too many seats, and lack of marketability were all reasons that USI and Roberts Stadium didn't come to an agreement at the time.

As we flash forward 18 years later, let's take a look at what has changed and what hasn't...

What Hasn't Changed?

- USI still plays at PAC Arena which only seats 3300 seats at best and is used mainly as a practice facility. PAC Arena still has no luxury boxes or retail amenities around it.

- USI is still in the Division II GLVC but is looking to slowly and gradually improve their program.

- USI is still winning games and is ranked in the top 5/10 consistently.

- USI still has no plans to build a new arena although support for USI's basketball programs is growing rapidly.


What Has Changed?

- Roberts Stadium has now been vacated by the Aces and all other tenants which frees up the facility for USI men's and women's basketball teams to be anchor tenants. This also allows for USI to rebrand the facility in their image.

- USI's soccer team plays their homes game next door. As you come into Roberts Stadium from Division Street, you will see a huge USI banner.

- Northern Kentucky University is planning on leaving the GLVC for Division I while Kentucky Wesleyan College is leaving the GLVC for an Ohio based conference and will eventually have a new arena in Downtown Owensboro. USI's other two division rivals Indianapolis and Bellarmine have been grumbling about making the move to Division I. This leaves USI with a bigger travelling budget.

- Roberts Stadium has the potential to have its floor raised with a new mid-sized arena operator. This would make the rent affordable for USI. It would also allow USI to play in front of sold out or packed crowds.

- USI released a master plan in 2006 that calls for building new educational facilities next to PAC Arena. Eventually, this will make parking a little bit harder on game days.

- USI's student body is growing. As a result, students come from all over the Evansville region including the Roberts Stadium area.

Given all of this, the time to act is NOW. No, USI will probably not be ready to make the leap to Division I athletics in the next few years, but the ground work for this gigantic step must be laid now. To rehash what's been said in previous posts, why is USI and Roberts Stadium a perfect match?

1. Roberts Stadium comes with 15 corporate luxury boxes. In a 2009 article in the Evansville Courier & Press, USI talked about corporate revenue being their biggest need. These luxury boxes would fill that void.

2. Roberts Stadium comes with zero debt. USI will never be able to move into an arena the size of Roberts Stadium without taking on a substantial amount of debt. Moving into Roberts Stadium would be an instant cash boost to USI's athletic department while freeing up funds that would normally be spent on building a new arena for other sports that need to be Division I caliber.

3. Roberts Stadium has more marketing opportunities than PAC. Although Roberts Stadium is seen as an east side facility, it isn't too far from US 41 and is visible from the LLoyd Expressway versus PAC Arena which cannot be seen by most Evansville motorists. Also, Roberts Stadium has much more room for concession stand sales, mobile retail sales, and ticket sales.

4. Roberts Stadium isn't too far from Turoni's Forget-Me-Not Inn who is a huge sponsor of USI Basketball. In fact, USI's radio show is broadcast from their Main Street location. When I was a season ticket holder back in the 1990's, I sat next to the family who owns Turoni's. They are the best USI fans around. Not only would USI games at Roberts Stadium improve the brand awareness of sponsors like Turoni's, it would also give them better perks from the team such as a luxury box, a court side seat, and/or a VIP section.

5. USI will be enjoying the "economy of scale" model. What do I mean by this? USI would be playing in a 5,000-6,000 seat Roberts Stadium which is right at the attendance mark we would expect for an average USI game. Instead of playing in a half or 3/4s full Ford Center, USI will be playing in a filled Roberts Stadium. Roberts Stadium will allow USI to grow as a Div II to Div I team which is different than UE who is already Div I and in the Missouri Valley Conference and is looking to eventually fill the 10,000 + seat Ford Center every night.

6. USI's support base will grow. Like the C&P article stated, you will see that fan support increases when a team is winning or improving. Moving USI into Roberts Stadium will be a dramatic improvement and will spur instant support from USI's base of supporters.

To recap, USI can move into Roberts Stadium which will increase their revenue drastically while taking on zero debt and paying an affordable amount of rent all while freeing up time at PAC arena for other teams to practice. Is it just me or is this a no-brainer?

Like Roberts Stadium, I care deeply about USI Basketball. I also care deeply about improving our city without having to drive it into debt. There is no reason to build USI a new arena on campus or move them into the crowded and filled Ford Center when Roberts Stadium is sitting vacant just waiting for a team like USI to move in.

Rarely, if ever, do we get a chance to correct a mistake we have made many years over. Indeed, Evansville has made a lot of mistakes over the years for which we paying for them now. This will be the one and only chance we have to make up for the mistake we made in 1994 by not helping USI like we have UE.

Unlike 1994, we will have the open dates, the affordable rent, and the opportunity to convert Roberts Stadium into a facility that markets USI as the anchor and main tenant. Let's not make the same mistake twice, let's move USI in and SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!

The Ball Is Now In Our Court

After last night's task force meeting, we now have some more clarity on how we are going to put together a plan that will end up being Roberts Stadium's new lease on life.

As usual, I am thoroughly satisfied with the way things are going, and my confidence in Roberts Stadium emerging from the previous administration's fiasco is at an all-time high. Before I dive into what the next steps are for the Save Roberts Stadium movement, I want to first send out a few thank yous.

- I would like to thank Chief of Staff Director Steve Schaeffer who has made this whole process as simple and friendly as it can be. As someone who has had to fight against the will of many politicians for Roberts Stadium, words cannot express how grateful I am to Steve for getting everything lined up for us to do our job.

Steve has made sure the windows at Roberts Stadium were clean from all graffiti before the public toured Roberts Stadium. Steve has made sure that we have access to the building any time we need to view it up close to get an idea of what kind of space we're dealing with. Steve has stepped up to the plate to make sure that everyone realizes that the Ford Center's TIF bonds DO NOT stipulate that we cannot have seats in another venue. Lastly, Steve has made sure that we got a fair trial for Roberts Stadium by lining up the best and brighest of the Winnecke administration to work with us.

Unfortunately, it's looking more and more like Steve will be headed to Terre Haute where he will take over the reigns of their chamber of commerce. I have never been one to let Evansville's brain drain get me down but with the departures of Mizell Stewart, Joe Wallace, and now Steve, I am at that point. Nonetheless, thank you Steve for all that you have done for our 56 year old community icon.

- I would like to thank Dave Coker whose speech sumed up what I have been saying for almost 18 months now- that there are a lot of politicians who have lost their job because of the way they have misrepresented Roberts Stadium. Mr. Coker also went on to say that he doesn't believe Roberts Stadium is getting a fair shake from the media and that we need to do something about getting the public to see the true condition of Roberts Stadium.

I couldn't have said it any better than how Mr. Coker said it last night. There is no reason for our local political leaders to do to Roberts Stadium what they have done to it. There's also no reason why some media outlets have chosen to portray Roberts Stadium as an arena on its last leg. Like I have been doing the past 18 months, I am thoroughly committed to defeating the naysayers in our community whose only goal is to seek and destroy any pride, hope, or vision we may have for our city. Thank you Dave Coker!

- I know I've said it before but I'm going to say it again- thank you Mr. Larry Steenberg for your leadership on this project. What I like best about Larry is the open and friendly mindset he has. I feel like I can genuinely talk to him about what I'm trying to do for Roberts Stadium and he will genuinely listen and give an effort to see if the path is worth evaluating. In the business and political world, it seems like we are almost always stuck with people who we can't stand and don't want to deal with because of their enormous egos. Mr. Steenberg is 180 degrees different than that. Thank you Larry Steenberg!

As for the meeting, we now have it set up where we are going to have a strong and legitimate shot at putting together a plan for Roberts Stadium. How is this going to work?

First, Larry Steenberg broke down all of the ideas (over 600 of them) into "silos." These silos are the following...

1. Extreme Sports and Water Parks
2. Green Space
3. Entertainment Sports and Events
4. Ideas designed to specifically save Roberts Stadium
5. Ideas designed to specifically demolish Roberts Stadium
6. Misc Ideas

Silos 4,5,6 have been mixed in with the above 3 which are our subcommittees. Obviously, I am in group #3. I am joined by subcommittee leader Jeff Justice, Greg Stilwell, and Councilman Jonathan Weaver. Although these three task force members are probably cussing up a storm that they drew the small straw of being in my group, I couldn't be any happier with the draw we got.

At first, I was kind of hesitant about the groups being broken down due to the fact that I would like to draw up a comprehensive plan where all three groups are happy. Luckily, I have been told that my subcommittee is allowed to draw up a comprehensive proposal for the land which makes this even better.

Therefore, I can give my opinion on how the green space and extreme sports subcommittees can fit into Roberts Stadium itself and the surrounding lot without compromising Roberts Stadium and I don't have to deal with those ideas personally. Those who specialize in extreme sports can put together that aspect of it, those who want green space can draw up their plan, and I can help my group finish off the mid-sized arena plan that I have been advocating for some time now. Then, I can lobby to put the whole entire package together like a jigsaw puzzle which is what any city that values good urban planning does.

With all of that being said, tomorrow is the beginining of my subcommittee's first meeting. At this meeting we are going to make a list of who we need to talk to for this plan. Those who have read this blog know exactly what investor(s) and organizations I'm heading for myself to complete this project. I will look through the packet of ideas that were given to us by the citizens (thank you Ella Johnson for your hardwork in compiling all of them) and I will tie up the loose ends with the investors I have already rounded up for this project.

Amazingly enough, there are still naysayers in this community who don't believe we will pull this off. They still believe that we will fall flat on our face. They don't think we have the drive, the toughness, the financial logic, and/or the will power to deliver a new Roberts Stadium to the citizens of Evansville.

For these reasons, it is very important to realize that we have been given by Mayor Winnecke one shot at pulling this off. This opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity to rise to the occasion...

A Smaller Roberts Stadium Would Be A Louder Roberts Stadium

uconnmagazine.uconn.edu

Given the fact that the vast majority of Roberts Stadium's expenses can be avoided by simply raising the floor back up to the pre-1990-1991 renovation level, many people have expressed many different opinions.

Initially, I was hesitant about raising the floor. I really didn't want Roberts Stadium to be scaled down to a thimble where it would be a shell of its former self. I felt like we would be sacrificing a piece of Roberts Stadium.

Since then, I have done a 180 on this issue. I am now 110% in favor of raising the floor for the following reasons...

1. Raising the floor would take it back up to at least the same level that Ralph Legeman and Hank Roberts had it at. The vast majority of Roberts Stadium's history occurred BEFORE the floor was lowered, therefore, we would actually be going back to how things use to be at Roberts Stadium, not away from it.

2. The water pumps really are expensive. I don't believe that the water pumps are as bad as demolition supporters want you to believe they are. I think they were used as a political weapon against Roberts Stadium. However, if we eliminate the pumps, this will reduce the vast majority of Roberts Stadium's expenses. Unless you leave security lights on, there will no longer be any expenses generated when Roberts Stadium is not in operation.

3. Raising the floor is a strong sign to city hall that we have no ambitions whatsoever of competing with the Ford Center. Rather, we wish to downsize in order to take advantage of the mid-sized events industry that hasn't been fully tapped into by the Evansville market.

As most of you who come to this blog know, I am a big supporter of bringing in USI men's and women's basketball as well as Evansville Rage indoor football to be our main anchor tenants with the rest of the open dates being rented out to groups such as the BMX community, the expo community, as well as other minor league sports such as lacrosse, in-line skating, NBDL basketball, and mid-sized concerts.

Those who attended the Roberts Stadium Task Force public hearings know that I am not alone in my support for USI moving into Roberts Stadium. In fact, at the first meeting, all 4 public groups had at least one person who mentioned USI.

We've talked about why USI should come to Roberts Stadium (zero debt, already paid off building, 15 corporate luxury boxes, more seats, more space for merchandise sales, better recruitment in UE territory, etc, etc) but we have not addressed one concern amongst those in the minority who aren't sold on USI playing at Roberts Stadium. The number one concern they have is: "Would this hurt student attendance since Roberts Stadium is off campus?"

The answer, in my opinion, is no if we do the right things. By that, I am talking about the fact that we need to give USI students a reason to come to games at Roberts Stadium. Obviously, that starts with free shuttle rides from USI to Roberts Stadium (jobs anyone?). But the number one thing you have to evaluate in your goal to attract students into your arena is the design of the arena itself.

Let's take a look at 20 of the best college basketball arenas in the country...

Like every other list in America, Cameron Indoor Stadium, home of Duke Basketball, was ranked number 1 in the above video. But why? It's simple. Sports fans and their teams love the crowd noise generated by their students. Let's take a look at how loud Cameron Indoor Stadium gets from their student section...

The entire atmosphere at Cameron Indoor Stadium is driven by the energy from Duke's students. If USI were to come to Roberts Stadium we would probably not have as many students as Duke does but we would definitely need a student section that makes Roberts Stadium one of the toughest places for a visiting team to pick up a victory.

Also, keep in mind, we need to incorporate our student section in with the rest of the population who we need to make sure is in the game as well. There needs to be a happy medium between our loud student section and our general audience which consists of USI boosters who give a lot money to their basketball programs.

Rupp Arena, home to the University of Kentucky where I graduated from, executes this philosophy the way I think Roberts Stadium should execute it. Behind one of the goals is the "eRUPPtion zone" which is the student body while the other three sides have seats that go all the way up to the court and are huge revenue generators from UK's rich alumni and boosters.

Let's take a look at how our student section would look before diving into the general audience...

Step 1- Let's take a look at what Roberts Stadium looks like now. To do this, I will be using a picture from my friends over at WorldStadiums.com.

(click on any photo to enlarge)

Step 2- Now, let's take a look at what the arena would look like if we raise the floor back above the water table and up to the pre-1990-91 level.

Step 3- As you can see in Step 2, the arena has shrank in size. While this may seem to be a downgrade for Roberts Stadium, in reality it isn't. This will bring the crowd closer to the action (skyboxes included) and it will trap the noise inside the arena making the facility feel more intimate, intimidating, and personal.

In Step 3, we will need to remove a few rows of seats in the end zone so that the Evansville Rage will have a large enough playing floor (the section in black). Removing these seats and replacing them with our already existing temporary fold-up chairs will also increase the size of the floor for other tenants...

Step 4- This is the last step in constructing our student section. With the current end zone alignment, we have permanent seats in this area. These will need to be removed so that we can fit more students into the area which will increase the noise level while making students feel like they have a section of their own (SIU Arena in Carbondale does this perfectly). These steps can also be repeated behind the other goal as long as it wins approval from the NCAA which is not gauranteed...

Now that we have designed our student section, we will need to address the rest of the seating. Ideally, only the first row will be affected by our redesign as the rest of the rows will use the already existing seats. In previous decades, the front row of seats were always separated from the court either by the scores table or the team benches (PAC is set up this way)...

cw.ua.edu

But now, a famous celebrity, Jack Nicholson, has set an entirely new trend. Nicknamed "Jack Nicholson Seats," these front-row seats are either between the scores table and team benches or on the other side and go all the way up to the out of bounds area...

jack-nicholson.info

What are the advantages of these seats?

1. Fan interaction- Obviously these seats are much closer to the game which gives those who sit in them the feel that they are in the game.

2. Revenue- Since these seats are closer to the action they are worth more than typical front row seats. Also, well-known people like to buy these seats as they are the perfect way of drawing attention to them as either a donor to the team or as a celebrity in general.

3. They increase seating capacity- Since the front row has more seats than any other row in an arena, the closer you put your front row to the action the more rows and seats you can put inside the arena as a whole.

So, given the above design, why would USI and Roberts Stadium make a perfect match outside of the topics we have already talked about in previous posts?

- Increase in student seating capacity and interaction with the basketball team(s)

- Increase in revenue from the addition of "Jack Nicholson Seats"

- Increase in brand awareness and value via a smaller but louder Roberts Stadium

- Increase in sponsors who will seek out these premium seats as well as Roberts Stadium's skyboxes

- Increase in brand loyalty by bringing students and general audience members closer to the game with their seats and closer to the USI brand by painting the entire facility in USI attire

Like I've said earlier, we cannot afford to demolish a perfect healthy venue when it can do so much for USI basketball, Evansville Rage football, NBDL basketball, and the rest of the 12 tenants I have talked about who will bring in enough revenue to keep Roberts Stadium solvent and the district around it thriving.

Let's redesign a college basketball arena that is 2nd to none and let's SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!

Apparently Dunn Hospitality Does Support Baseball Tournaments @ Bosse Field

Photo Credit: GLVCSports.com

There are some stories you just can't make up. If you were to put them in a script and give them to a film director in Hollywood, they would pitch it immediately while telling you the script just isn't believable. No, these types of stories you just have to see and hear for yourself to believe them.

This past week, we were treated to one of those stories when we received the great news that this year's GLVC Baseball Tournament will be coming to the historical confines of Bosse Field. For the past decade, the tournament was hosted by GSC Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois. So how in the world did Evansville pull this tournament away from a city who has hosted it year after year?

http://www.glvcsports.com/news/2012/2/10/BSB_0210124950.aspx

(bolding has been added by me)

"After a decade competing at GSC Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., the GLVC Baseball Tournament relocates to a community and a venue that has been associated with the game of baseball for nearly 100 years.

Speaking before an assembled media group inside the main tunnel of Bosse Field, GLVC Commissioner Jim Naumovich spoke about partnering the conference with the community to ensure a positive experience for both the student-athletes and all baseball fans in attendance.

“Benjamin Bosse, for whom this field is named, spoke as he was elected mayor of this city in 1913 that ‘When everybody boosts, everybody wins.’ We could not agree more,” said Naumovich."

That's right, one of Evansville's main recruiters for this tournament is a man who has been dead for nearly 90 years- Benjamin Bosse. How can this be? It's simple- Mayor Bosse constructed a ballpark that was built to last. As a result, nearly 100 years of baseball history has taken place at Bosse Field which has given Evansville a competitive advantage in the baseball industry.

Of course, we already knew that. And we already know that youth baseball tournaments look for these same kind of attributes and amenities when selecting a site for their tournaments as well.

Aberdeen, Maryland, hometown to Cal Ripken Jr. and Ripken Academy which features replica fields of Camden Yards and Wrigley Field, is one of the premier places for youth baseball. Another town, Cooperstown, New York is a popular draw for youth baseball tournaments as it is the home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Lastly, a new baseball complex is being constructed in Dyersville, Iowa next to the site of the movie "Field of Dreams." I talked about all three of these fields and how they relate to the Bosse Field district in an earlier post...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/12/dyersville-iowa-aberdeen-maryland.html

One organization who apparently is finally starting to understand the value of baseball at Bosse Field and the surrounding neighborhood is the organization whose main leader and investor was in charge of building the ball fields on the Roberts Stadium lot...

(from the above GLVC link; bolding has been added by me)

“Community engagement and providing a fun and welcoming game environment is at the heart of the NCAA Division II philosophy. That is why the GLVC is proud to partner with the Evansville Sports Corporation, Evansville Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Evansville Otters and Historic Bosse Field for this year’s event. We are also pleased to have on board Mizuno, Dunn Hospitality, Old National Bank, and Rawlings – the official baseball of the GLVC.”

Yes, that is where this story becomes absolutely, positively unbelievable. Since the ball fields debate began with David Dunn and the previous ECVB selecting the Roberts Stadium site for their ball fields plan, I have issued a counter-idea for placing them next to Bosse Field at Kleymeyer Park. How would this work?

(click to enlarge)

Let's describe the plan using the different colors on the map...

1. The Green Line- This would be the new entrance to Kleymeyer Park where a new stoplight would be placed at First Ave (we'll give naming rights to this stoplight to Bill Jeffers). This new entrance is farther away from Diamond Avenue than the stoplight on the other side of Diamond that use to be the entrance to Buylow and Shop-Ko. As you can see, the current EYFL would have to be relocated but that is to their advantage as the field next to old North H.S is in much better shape.

2. The Purple Circle- This is Bob Walther's Golf-N-Fun. The potential revenue spike for this establishment if the ball fields were placed next to it is astronomical due to the fact that it has what many youth baseball participants want- putt-putt, laser tag, arcade games, and a snack bar.

3. The Red Circle- This is where the other 4 ball fields can be constructed without infringing upon Bob Walther's driving range. However, it would seem to me that a land swap where we would send the driving range out to Hamilton Golf Course in exchange for building the fields closer to Bob's Golf-N-Fun would make more sense.

Remember, the fields need to replicate vintage MLB fields like the organization Big League Dreams does...

http://www.bigleaguedreams.com/replica-fields

4. The Blue Line- This is where the pedestrian bridge would cross over to Garvin Park and Bosse Field so that our championship games can be played at Bosse Field just like the GLVC's championship game. In 2002, Mayor Russ Lloyd Jr. hired a firm to undertake a master plan for the area. You can see the entire plan by contacting Dave Coker. The plan had 13 points with point 13 being the establishment of a bridge in this area to connect the two parks. It's about time we got back to this plan.

5. The Yellow Circle- This is where Don Mattingly played his youth baseball games. We need to market this heavily to travelling baseball tournaments.

6. The Orange Circle- Obviously, this is Bosse Field. By playing our championship games there, we will be..

A. Helping the Otters increase their advertisement revenue and concession stand revenue from Bosse Field on off days.

B. Promoting Evansville as the site of the film "A League of Their Own."

C. Using Evansville's baseball history as a recruiting tool against other cities who will be bidding for travelling youth baseball tournaments.

D. Providing a use for Bosse Field for when the time comes to build a downtown minor league ballpark. Many say Roberts Stadium should have been addressed with the construction of the Ford Center. Why don't we address the needs of Bosse Field BEFORE a new ballpark is built?

E. Tying the whole area into the ball field complex. Doing this will allow for us to market the retail and restaurants that circle the entire area as well as downtown where our new taxpayer funded downtown hotel will eventually be constructed.

Why are Evansville leaders excited about the GLVC coming to town?

(from the GLVC link above; bolding has been added by me)

"Warren expects the economic impact of the GLVC Baseball Tournament to range close to $800,000 for the city of Evansville, while Jones and Bussing both shared the desire to showcase the city’s jewel of a baseball diamond, which was built in 1915 and is the third oldest professional ballpark in the country, behind Wrigley Field and Fenway Park."

A huge economic shot to the arm and a chance to market our existing sports facility which is a historic gem. Shouldn't that be the goals, objectives, and vision for our ball fields project as well?

Of course, those who wanted the ball fields at Roberts argue that Kleymeyer Park is unsuitable for ball fields due to it being on a landfill and that the ground is uneven. I talked about this earlier...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/12/democratic-central-committees-last-move.html

This entire situation reminds me of the situation going on in New York at the Fresh Kills Landfill (where all of the WTC debris was originally taken to) where the city is attempting to convert the landfill into a sports complex.

At first, the scare tactics began...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/staten_island/fresh_kills_park_plan_is_down_in_dcjERHilmUesoNBXpz0B7N

"The city has hit a major snag in the early stages of a three-decade effort to transform the 2,200-acre former Fresh Kills Landfill along the West Shore Expressway into green space nearly triple the size of Central Park.

The project's long-delayed first segment -- bringing four soccer fields and other amenities to 28 acres at the edge of the former garbage dump -- is on hold again because its foundation is sinking.

Parks Department workers and the contractor hired to build Owl Hollow Fields for the Fresh Kills Park project believe tons of sand laid out as foundation fill has dropped between eight inches and a foot, sources close to the project told The Post.

"If problems like this are happening at this stage, just imagine when they try building thousands of acres in the heart of the landfill," said Geoffrey Croft, of watchdog group New York City Park Advocates."

But in the end, this tactic was seen for what it was worth...

http://www.silive.com/southshore/index.ssf/2011/09/owl_hollow_fields_4_synthetic.html

"According to an initial report by the New York Post, the site's foundation was originally found to be sinking earlier this year. The newspaper reported that Owl Hollow's contractor – D. Gangi Contracting – acknowledged that the foundation had dropped between 8 inches and a foot.

The Parks Department responded by saying it was dropping, but barely, by less than one-half of an inch.

"As we anticipated," said Ignizio, "This was a lot to do about very little. All those issues have been worked out." "

Just like New York, we cannot afford to let this area be bypassed on this once in a lifetime opportunity just because of a few naysayers. We can, and we must, incorporate Bosse Field and its rich history into our youth ball fields project.

Baseball belongs at Kleymeyer and Garvin Parks, not at Roberts Stadium where basketball glory has existed for decades. Most importantly, by saving Roberts Stadium and scaling it back to a mid-sized arena, we can take the seats that will be removed out of the arena and put them in our ball fields at Kleymeyer Park. This was already done when the bleachers from Roberts Stadium were put inside Mesker Amphitheatre.

Building the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park and playing the championship games at Bosse Field isn't just a regional plan, it's a NATIONAL PLAN. How good is a sponsorship at Bosse Field during a baseball tournament? I guess I'll have to defer to Dunn Hospitality on that one...

Photo Credit: GLVCSports.com