At this point, we've heard it all. Roberts Stadium will compete with the Ford Center. The Ford Center was built as a replacement to Roberts Stadium. Any mid-sized event will go in the Ford Center with the curtains on the upper lever. Basically, the two cannot exist.
Demolition supporters, most of them are former employees of the previous mayor, have cited the RCA Dome and Market Square Arena as examples. Yet, there is no real evidence to support their claims while there is an adequate amount of evidence that points against their theories. In fact, there is so much evidence it really makes you wonder if those who support demolition really did their homework (it's doubtful as they have refused to give us any financial logic and have admitted that have no emotion towards Roberts Stadium or this project).
Before we compile our list, let's first address the two facilities above...
The RCA Dome
Demolishing the RCA Dome was quite possibly the worst decision the city of Indianapolis has ever made. Once the Colts moved across the street into Lucas Oil Stadium, the debate began on what to do with the RCA Dome. Right off the bat, many people questioned why the facility should be demolished when it would have handled motocross events more easily than Lucas Oil Stadium which is geared towards football.
But Indianapolis didn't listen and decided to implode the facility in December of 2008. In it's place, a convention center expansion that would have easily fit into the RCA Dome. And let's not forget, the city was still paying the debt off on the facility...
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17550068/detail.html
Market Square Arena
Indianapolis struck out big time when they demolished Market Square Arena. When the facility was demolished on July 8, 2001, the city had big dreams of converting the area into a mixed use complex.
Instead of using Market Square Arena, which had two parking garages built into it and was originally designed to house 4 story office buildings, Indianapolis ended up with nothing. Today two gravel, yes gravel, parking lots occupy its space, which is illegal because all parking lots must be paved within 1 year of demolition in Indianapolis.
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25037501/detail.html
"Originally, several large projects were proposed, including a high-rise condominium and retail space planned a few years ago, but that plan fell through as the economy tanked.
Now that the gravel variance has expired, the CIB plans to pave the lots at a cost of $800,000 tax dollars, with parking fees used to eventually cover the cost. Even that plan is temporary."
Although demolishing Market Square Arena and the RCA Dome were black eyes for the city of Indianapolis, the city has certainly learned its lesson beginning with the Pepsi Coliseum which I will be talking about later on in this post.
With all of that being said, let's now take a look at mid-sized arenas across the country that are co-existing with their big brother premier arenas...
Portland, Oregon: Memorial Coliseum --> Rose Garden
I talked about the Rose Quarter, which consists of the historic Memorial Coliseum and the fairly new Rose Garden, in a previous post...
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/01/we-can-learn-lot-from-portland-oregon.html
Basically, Memorial Coliseum, which lost the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers to the Rose Garden in 1995, serves as the mid-sized facility for Portland while the Rose Garden hosts premier concerts and the NBA. The next step Portland is planning in the evolution of the Rose Quarter is to add an indoor BMX facility between the two arenas. Although the crowds are smaller, Memorial Coliseum actually hosts more events than the Rose Garden...
http://chatterbox.typepad.com/portlandarchitecture/2011/11/city-council-to-discuss-coliseum-restoration-thursday-supporters-encouraged.html
(bolding has been added by me)
"The Beavers and their approximately 1,800 season ticket holders (in 2009) would not have comprised a sound economic development strategy for the Rose Quarter, especially during the majority of the year that isn't baseball season. It's truly unfortunate the team wasn't able to find a way to build a stadium elsewhere in the metro area - Beaverton, Clackamas, Lents and Vancouver all rejected overtures - yet a busy multipurpose arena like the Coliseum is much more of a continuous revenue stream for the city. It hosts over 150 events per year, as much as the Rose Garden - only with smaller crowds.
Because the two arenas are differently sized - the Rose Garden at approximately 20,000 and the Coliseum being downsized to about 8,000 - they each fill a different economic niche. Portland doesn't have another arena of the Coliseum's size, so we'd eventually have to build a new one. And a from-the-ground-up arena would cost far, far more than this $30 million restoration - only $17 million of which is coming from city money anyway - not to mention all the carbon and embodied energy that would be lost if the Coliseum were torn down."
Wichita, Kansas: Charles Koch Arena--> Hartman Arena--> Intrust Bank Arena
(bolding has been added by me)
"The Beavers and their approximately 1,800 season ticket holders (in 2009) would not have comprised a sound economic development strategy for the Rose Quarter, especially during the majority of the year that isn't baseball season. It's truly unfortunate the team wasn't able to find a way to build a stadium elsewhere in the metro area - Beaverton, Clackamas, Lents and Vancouver all rejected overtures - yet a busy multipurpose arena like the Coliseum is much more of a continuous revenue stream for the city. It hosts over 150 events per year, as much as the Rose Garden - only with smaller crowds.
Because the two arenas are differently sized - the Rose Garden at approximately 20,000 and the Coliseum being downsized to about 8,000 - they each fill a different economic niche. Portland doesn't have another arena of the Coliseum's size, so we'd eventually have to build a new one. And a from-the-ground-up arena would cost far, far more than this $30 million restoration - only $17 million of which is coming from city money anyway - not to mention all the carbon and embodied energy that would be lost if the Coliseum were torn down."
Wichita, Kansas: Charles Koch Arena--> Hartman Arena--> Intrust Bank Arena
Forget having two arenas coexist, the Wichita metro area has three arenas that all serve different niches in the Wichita market. Demolition supporters really don't want you to know about Wichita!
Beginning in 1955, Charles Koch Arena has been home to the Wichita State Shockers men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball teams.
Koch Arena has also hosted the 2008 Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 6A state wrestling tournament. The arena also hosts numerous high school basketball games involving schools from the Wichita City League. The KSHSAA Class 6A boys and girls basketball state tournaments will move to Koch Arena from Emporia State University's White AuditoriumMissouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game.
In march of 2009, another mid-sized arena opened up in Park City, Kansas, a suburb right outside of Wichita. Hartman Arena, which is a 5,000 seat privately owned arena, hosts home games of the Wichita Wild indoor football team and is also the home to the Wichita Wings of the MISL.
Beginning in 2011, Hartman Arena will host the Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 6A and 5A State Wrestling Tournaments. They were moved here after one year at Intrust Bank Arena, in which the event lost money mainly due to the high rent. Many concerts have been hosted at the arena when Intrust Bank Arena was already booked.
Finally, in January of 2010, Wichita opened up the 15,000 seat Intrust Bank Arena. The arena features 22 suites, 2 party suites, and over 300 premium seats. It is home to the Wichita Thunder of the Central Hockey League and is the second largest indoor arena in the state of Kansas behind only Allen Fieldhouse, which seats 16,341.
Did having two mid-sized arenas in the metro area hurt Intrust Bank Arena? No, The Intrust Bank Arena cracked Pollstar’s Top 50 Arena Venues for ticket sales during the first quarter of 2010. Intrust Bank Arena ranked 22nd in the United States and 45th world-wide...
Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Sioux Falls Arena --> Sioux Falls Events Center
Like Portland, I have previously discussed the situation in Sioux Falls, South Dakota...
Sioux Falls Arena, which turned 50 years old this year, has three tenants: Sioux Falls Skyforce (NBDL), Sioux Falls Storm (indoor football), and the Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL). Most notably, the arena hosts the Summit League Div I Men's Basketball Tournament each year.
Now, the arena is beginning to show its limitations in terms of attracting new business and new tenants to Sioux Falls. This prompted city officials to begin exploring their options. In the end, it was decided that the new arena, which is now called The Sioux Falls Events Center, would be built on the other side of Sioux Falls Arena and The Sioux Falls Convention Center.
Despite the Sioux Falls Skyforce announcing that they will move out of the current arena and into a nearby smaller facility, the city is still poised to keep Sioux Falls Arena even when the Sioux Falls Events Center opens up. Let's take a look at some of the quotes from the following article...
(bolding has been added by me)
"The Skyforce will still play in the Arena for another two years. With the basketball team leaving and the new events center ready to absorb the Storm and the Stampede, some question what purpose the Arena will serve. Torkildson says he isn't worried about the Arena's future.
"It will still leave us more flexibility in bringing in some higher revenue generating events,” said Torkildson. “It's not like we are losing a team out of the community.”
"It will still leave us more flexibility in bringing in some higher revenue generating events,” said Torkildson. “It's not like we are losing a team out of the community.”
Mike Sullivan with the Sioux Falls Sports Authority agrees. Sullivan says while his main focus is to find events to put in the new events center, he says the Arena gives people looking to come to Sioux Falls more venue options.
"Things that find the events center too expensive or too big or whatever their case may be, then we will move them down into the Arena,” said Sullivan.
"It opens up time, dates, easier conversions and it will open it up for Mike Sullivan to book for those regional and even some of those national events,” said Torkildson.
"Things that find the events center too expensive or too big or whatever their case may be, then we will move them down into the Arena,” said Sullivan.
"It opens up time, dates, easier conversions and it will open it up for Mike Sullivan to book for those regional and even some of those national events,” said Torkildson.
Sullivan and Torkildson agree that although the Arena may not be used the same way as it is now, it won't sit empty.
"It's an old building but it's useful,” said Sullivan. “There is a lot of floor space and a lot of seating capacity in there so it will be used for things I am sure. It just gives us another option for when we go out and recruit events. I think it's a great thing for Sioux Falls.”
Officials say when the Skyforce moves to the Sanford Pentagon, it will free up a total of 24 dates at the Arena, which will be open to other events."
"It's an old building but it's useful,” said Sullivan. “There is a lot of floor space and a lot of seating capacity in there so it will be used for things I am sure. It just gives us another option for when we go out and recruit events. I think it's a great thing for Sioux Falls.”
Officials say when the Skyforce moves to the Sanford Pentagon, it will free up a total of 24 dates at the Arena, which will be open to other events."
Louisville, Kentucky: Freedom Hall --> KFC Yum Center
Although it is in a much bigger city, Freedom Hall has seen a lot of the same performers over the years as Roberts Stadium has since both facilities opened in 1956. Most notably, the University of Louisville men's basketball team called Freedom Hall home from 1956 to 2010. The Kentucky Colonels of the ABA played games there as well.
But in 2010, Freedom Hall needed to reinvent itself when the downtown KFC Yum Center opened up, taking U of L basketball and all of Freedom Hall's premier concerts. The Kentucky State Fair Board was so creative and risky in their search to fill the venue up that they moved in U of L's arch rival UK for a game...
Although Freedom Hall's only regular tenant is the Kentucky Stickhorses of the North American Lacrosse League, it is still used regularly, hosting concerts, horse shows, conventions, and basketball games. The facility still hosts over 100 events a year...
Indianapolis, Indiana: Pepsi Coliseum --> Banks Life Field House (previously Conseco Field House)
Just like the Cotton Bowl outlived its replacement Texas Stadium in Dallas, the Pepsi Coliseum has outlived Market Square Arena, which was deemed to be a replacement for the Indiana Pacers' original home.
Since 1974 when the Pacers bolted for Market Square Arena, the Pepsi Coliseum has specialized in mid-sized events.
During the winter months, public ice skating is offered at the Pepsi Coliseum for a small fee. The Pepsi Coliseum also hosts Budweiser Fight Night Boxing, Indianapolis Boat, Sport & Travel Show, The Hoosier Horse Fair, high school and college commencement ceremonies, and many concerts featuring national acts.
Just last month, the State Fair Commission approved a $3.8 million renovation to the Pepsi Coliseum...
(bolding has been added by me)
""In this market an 8,000- to 9,000-seat venue is perfect. We're not in the business of competing with the other venues. What we're in the business to do is to restore this product. It's an $89 million economic impact," said Hoye."
Other mid-sized arenas of note that work with their bigger brother premier arena...
Omaha Civic Auditorium --> CenturyLink Center
Nashville Municipal Auditorium --> Bridgestone Arena
Kemper Arena --> Sprint Center
The truth is, when can go on...
and on..
and on...
With examples of mid-sized arenas yet there is no proof that these type of facilities ever competing with the bigger arena in their city. Some of these arenas are in mid-sized cities while others are in big cities. But no where they are located, they all abide by the same economic principles.
It's about time, Evansville joined the rest of the nation in the mid-sized arena market!
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