Final Proof That "Roberts Park" Was Just A Reason To Demolish & Disgrace Roberts Stadium

Today was the day that we were suppose to see "Evansville's New Central Park"- a park that was supposedly so good that Roberts Stadium just had to be demolished to make room for it. But today, we soon found out why Roberts Stadium was really demolished, and that's because the city just didn't want to scale it down to a mid-sized arena. How is today conclusive proof that this park was just an excuse to tear down Roberts Stadium? Let me show you. First, let's take a look at the renderings...

Photo Credit: Jason Clark- Evansville Courier & Press 

First of all I would like to thank the C&P for this rendering. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This picture is also worth a thousand reasons why I continue to fight for what I believe is right for Evansville and not what is good for the local politicians who comprise the political machine that is solely responsible for today's boondoggle design. If Evansville is ever going to go back to doing great things, it must first break away from the chains of government so that things like "Roberts Park" never happen again.

Obviously, you need not look any farther than the exact area where Roberts Stadium and its 3 parking lots stood to understand that this park isn't even on the Roberts Stadium lot. In fact, both proposed dog parks, the "formal garden", the recreation fields, the playground, and even the new road going between them and running parallel to Boeke are in WESSELMAN PARK NOT ROBERTS PARK.

On the exact Roberts Stadium footprint we have a "great lawn" (gee that's going to bring in tourists by the thousands), a water feature along the Lloyd that just so happens to be controversial because it's already flooding (http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=622372), and  two roads that already existed when Roberts Stadium existed. In fact, one of those roads was removed and now must be built back even though I lobbied for it to be repaired when it was still with Roberts Stadium and still mostly intact (http://rememberrobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/09/fire-evansville-vanderburgh-building.html).

So basically, everything you've ever heard the mayor speak of, whether it was a dog park, a skate park (which is in the parking area between Hartke and Swonder for some odd reason) a trail over to the new Lloyd Expressway pedestrian bridge had nothing to do with Roberts Stadium, they were all Wesselman Park issues which I talked about way back when...

http://rememberrobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/02/lets-dive-into-park-green-space-lake.html

With all of that being said, there is one thing, and it's a big one thing, that I find to be HIGHLY offensive. It's bad enough that Mayor Winnecke looked me and a several others straight in the eye and told us that we would get a proper final send off for Roberts Stadium (a ceremony that never happened), but it is equally offensive that this lot has NOTHING to memorialize Roberts Stadium, Mayor Hank Roberts, or Ralph Legeman, the architect of Roberts Stadium who also happens to own THE patent to the famous and world known Indiana field house design.

In Omaha, Nebraska, fans are getting to pay tribute to Rosenblatt Stadium in the correct manner which consists of a memorial that directly replicates the Rosenblatt Stadium design...

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130607/NEWS/706079920

At Roberts Park, NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, replicates the iconic Roberts Stadium gates, the iconic side brackets that ended up being used by Legeman in all of his other gyms that just so happen to be the biggest high school gyms in the world, or the iconic triangle sides that you could see a mile away on the Lloyd Expressway. There are no statues of Hank Roberts or Ralph Legeman (the city has $5-$10 million for this park but nothing for a few statues that pay tribute to the two people who made this lot iconic, famous, and one of kind? Yea right!). There is nothing, nothing but a green open lot that reminds residents of what happens when bad people make bad decisions.

As most of you know, I am still sick to my stomach that the city would rig a task force after members like me, Greg Stilwell, and Sylvia Trabits-Niemeier spent day after day working on this project which I talked about in an article published in the City-County Observer a few weeks ago...

http://city-countyobserver.com/2013/06/06/letter-to-the-editor-jordan-baer-roberts-demolition-anniversary/

But after looking at these designs, I am equally sick at the way this city government keeps disgracing Roberts Stadium and the noble leaders who helped get it built and made sure it was a success. The sad part about it is that we ALL could have won out of this. We could have repurposed Roberts Stadium for half the price of this park plan, we could have left a lot open for the EVSC, converted part of that lot into a "great lawn", while putting money back to redo Hartke Pool and expand Swonder with a permanent indoor skate park. It would have truly been "something for everyone"...

Since Roberts Stadium has been demolished, we have lost our indoor football team, our minor league basketball team the Evansville SkyHawks never got off the ground, our indoor soccer team is stuck in a facility too small to host traveling tournaments (heads in beds anyone?), Councilwoman Connie Robinson cannot get enough diverse acts here because there isn't a proper sized facility, UE's basketball attendance is at an all-time low, USI's PAC is beginning to show its age, and huge trade shows like the Boat Show will never have a facility that is both affordable and the proper size for them.

All of this is happening while the Icemen, the city's highest drawing sports team, had to play on the road while the city hosted the GLVC Tournament which was an attendance nightmare as only 1,500 fans tops were ever present at the 9,480 seat Ford Center. Not to mention, this all could have been fixed with the Innkeepers Tax that would funded these simple renovations and would have allowed us to avoid using any general funds from the city's budget. Today, not one hotel guest has saved one dime from the demolition of Roberts Stadium.

As we move along, we must make sure that funds aren't wasted on a park that isn't even a park. We must make sure that the city takes the proper steps towards eventually constructing a small-to-mid-sized facility, and we must make sure we continue to hold those politicians accountable who supported this project at the next round of elections which is in 2015.

This park isn't even a park. The city wants you to forget about Roberts Stadium. Will you remember Roberts Stadium?

Candidate Conor Much Different Than Councilman Conor

It is no secret that Roberts Stadium was always held to a standard by demolition supporters that they themselves always refused to be held up to. We were always told that Roberts Stadium was a drain on existing dilapidated parks, that it was wasting city funds, and that it would continue to be nothing but a liability to the city.

The problem is, is that all of that was a lie. Roberts Stadium MADE money, it would have continued to have made money albeit smaller amounts, and it would have brought in tourists who would have helped finance the city's parks via their tourist tax dollars. But now, now we are stuck with a "park" and this isn't just a park- it's a drain on city finances, it's taking away federal grants that could be used on existing parks, and it has ZERO chances of ever bringing in revenue, much less being profitable.

Back in 2011, when we were filled with candidates giving us their best pitches on what to do with Roberts, we were given the following from current City Council Member At-Large Representative Conor O'Daniel...

 http://rememberrobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-were-they-thinking.html

"It's irresponsible to keep that thing moth balled forever at $400,000 a year that's money that should go to our parks."

Yep, that's right mothballing Roberts was taking away money from our parks. First of all, Roberts was NOT costing $400,000 a year to mothball...

http://city-countyobserver.com/2012/10/21/roberts-stadium-electric-bills-obtained-through-freedom-of-information-act-request/

And unlike Councilman O'Daniel who voted for the 2013 budget, Stephanie Brinkerhoff Riley voted against it for this very reason...

http://city-countyobserver.com/2012/10/23/why-i-voted-against-the-2013-city-budget-by-councilwoman-stephanie-brinkerhoff-riley/

"The budget contains nearly $1 million dollars for the destruction of Roberts Stadium. Three years ago, Roberts Stadium was a profitable venue for the City. However, it was systematically attacked and the public misled as to its condition. A refusal to maintenance the building, a financing agreement for the Ford Center that required the removal of all of its seating, and an auction that sold the fixtures for pennies on the dollar has forced the destruction of a landmark in this community. City Council was misled at its last meeting as to the cost to mothball the building. We were told that it was $25 to $30 thousand dollars a month to maintain the building. The records revealed otherwise. In its most expensive month last year (January), water, telephone, pump monitoring, gas and electric was approximately $14 thousand. An average cost to mothball the stadium would be approximately $10 thousand a month. We are destroying a perfectly good building, that is paid for, due to a complete lack of creativity."

Secondly, if O'Daniel believed that mothballing Roberts was a drain on city parks, why didn't he support using $4-4.5 million on refurbishing Roberts into a mid-sized arena using Innkeepers Tax revenue in favor of the current park plan which is estimated to cost $5-10 million from the city budget that could be used on these same parks?

In other words, how can anyone who took next to no time looking into Roberts Stadium claim it's hurting the parks in any way shape or form when he voted for a budget that paid for demolition of Roberts leaving the current park plan the only option?

This past week, Councilman O'Daniel added another layer to this double standard pie...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2013/jul/02/xcp/?partner=popular

City Council members said funding will be an important factor as they weigh the Roberts Park proposal. Councilman Conor O’Daniel, D-At-large, said he supports having a recreation area at the Roberts location, although he also likes the idea of allowing the area to develop more naturally.

Much of the city’s riverboat and special project funds are already committed, and “there’s some concern we may have overcommitted ourselves this year,” O’Daniel said. “The other part of it is, we need a clean bill of health from the State Board of Accounts ... Those are the considerations we have to make in thinking about at what pace we roll this out.”

Despite the fact that the current situation with our existing parks is nothing short of pathetic, and despite the fact that Mr O'Daniel himself has admitted that city funds are tapped out, he has not called for pulling the plug on the project. Now, we get the "let's think about what pace we roll this out" speech. In other words, expect this park to be a pain in the city budget's rear for quite some time.

The answer to this problem, like it always has been, is very simple. It is nothing short of blatant hypocrisy for the City Council to give this mayor one single dime for a park that will NEVER stand a chance of making money. Roberts Stadium was never allowed to serve as a mid-sized arena which would have kept it solvent, it was never allowed to use Innkeeper's Tax funds which would have been half the cost of this boondoggle park and would have left the city budget alone, and it was never allowed to put heads in beds.

Therefore, this council should not allow a money losing, generic, and unneeded park that will indeed drain resources from existing parks to be constructed with city budget dollars.

There is no need to be a prisoner of the moment, developing this land immediately is irresponsible and unnecessary. But then again, will Councilman Conor hold Roberts Park up to the same standards as Candidate Conor did Roberts Stadium?