"Roberts, like the Aces themselves, can never really be replaced in the hearts and minds of fans in Evansville. It was a special place. A place where you saw everyone you wanted to see and where you, in turn, were seen."
--- Kyle Keiderling, author of "Trophies and Tears"
Please send all questions and comments to JordanBaer1@gmail.com
Please send all questions and comments to JordanBaer1@gmail.com
Yesterday, we received some more great news to go with the Evansville Rage winning their first ever game. After erasing a 10 point half-time deficit, the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles claimed their third GLVC Tournament Title. They will now play KWC in the first round of the NCAA Div II Tournament. That's the good news.
The bad news is that local residents did not get to see this victory in person unless they drove all the way over to the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, IL. In previous years, this GLVC Tournament was held right here in Evansville at Roberts Stadium. Unfortunately, it became too expensive for them to remain here so the tournament moved elsewhere.
The GLVC Tournament is just one of many reasons why we need to keep Roberts Stadium and use it as a mid-sized arena. Contrary to what the previous city hall wants you to believe, one size DOES NOT fit all. The Ford Center is an excellent venue for our city to have for when we go to convince the NCAA to move their Division II Elite 8 from the Bank of Kentucky Center to the Ford Center.
However, the Ford Center is not a fit for the GLVC Tournament. This past week, the tournament saw attendance figures range from 315...
The GLVC Tournament is not looking for a 9,400 seat arena with all new modern bells and whistles. Rather, they are looking for an affordable venue where they can play in front of near capacity crowds while leaving room for attendance expansion at the same time.
Why did the GLVC opt out of Roberts Stadium in 2007?
"After nine years at Evansvilles Roberts Stadium, the Great Lakes Valley Conference is ending its affiliation with the venue. Roberts has hosted the GLVC mens and womens basketball tournaments since 1998 Financial concerns, and not the facility, is the cause for the split, according to GLVC tourney officials."
""It is a big venue for Division II basketball," Hall said Monday. "Its a struggle to fill that many seats." The tournament filled the stadium in years like 2000, when Owensboro based Kentucky Wesleyan College and USI played in the mens championship game. But the rise of other basketball powers in the conference has seen attendance slip."
"Despite an ongoing dialog in the community about the future of Roberts, Hall says the facility was more than adequate to handle the needs of the GLVC."
Obviously, if the GLVC left because Roberts Stadium was too big and expensive, building the Ford Center isn't going to do anything to bring them back. This is our opportunity to fix the problem of having too many seats in Roberts Stadium. By raising the floor and eliminating a few rows of seats, we will be scaling the seating capacity down to a level that event organizers like the GLVC can work with.
Although the GLVC Tournament isn't drawing the numbers it use to, it is still worth the investment as Springfield saw an economic impact of $100,000 from the teams alone (not counting fans and guests)...
The GLVC Baseball Tournament, which is only expected to bring in 2,000 guests to Bosse Field, is estimated to bring in $800,000 to Evansville this year...
Basically, one GLVC Tournament would pay off the vast majority of our bill to raise the floor and fix the roof on the new part of the building. It would also be a shot in the arm for both USI basketball and the GLVC Tournament who were known to pack Roberts Stadium by the thousands, not hundreds, when USI played rivals like KWC and NKU. Although those teams are moving on, USI basketball will still form rivals with other teams like Bellarmine that will draw crowds large enough to fill a mid-sized Roberts Stadium.
Not only do we need to keep Roberts Stadium for the GLVC Tournament, we also need to utilize it for USI preseason tournaments, graduations, and 1-2 regular season games a year. This will allow us to bring in the amount of people necessary to keep our Innkeepers Tax solvent while promoting USI as well. We can do all of this while not even coming close to competing with the Ford Center!
Congratulations USI and I hope to someday see you cutting down the nets at the GLVC Tournament in Roberts Stadium once again!
I am pleased to announce that our Evansville Rage Indoor Football Team captured their first victory tonight in blowout fashion 52-13. They wasted no time capturing this victory as it was the first game in franchise history. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the game as it was during my weekend work shift, but I will be going to the Rage's next home game (click on their website for schedule: http://www.evansvillerage.com/ )
First of all, I would like to congratulate the Evansville Rage on their first victory. And not only do I want to congratulate them on getting this first victory, I also want to thank them for committing themselves to putting a championship caliber team on the field. As the Evansville BlueCats found out, it is very hard to win in this market given that we have no football alumni coming from either one of our two universities, but tonight's victory is a strong signal from the Rage that they plan on establishing a dynasty here in Evansville.
There are also a multitude of things we can take from tonight's victory such as...
1. The Evansville Rage are a great team to invest in with a renovated Roberts Stadium. They have proven that they are serious about fielding a winning team, and they have already proven there is still a great market demand for indoor football.
2. A renovated/scaled-down/mid-sized Roberts Stadium will not compete with the Ford Center. Tonight's Rage game took place at the Swonder Ice Arena, not downtown. This is because the Ford Center doesn't fit the economic model of indoor football at this time nor does it have enough open dates in March. This is a good thing, not a bad thing, as it clearly demonstrates that our city is growing by leaps in bounds with both premier and mid-sized arena events. All we would be doing with a mid-sized Roberts Stadium is giving teams like the Rage an affordable opportunity to expand their fan base.
3. Our community and the Evansville Rage should grow together. Instead of being a one horse town that is only concerned about premier events, why don't we take pride in our mid-sized events and teams too? After all, isn't that how the Icemen worked their way up to the Ford Center?
I am very excited about tonight's victory, but I am REALLY excited to see indoor football back in Evansville period. Many local residents including myself miss the Evansville BlueCats. Now that we've got the Rage, we need to make sure we take care of them by providing them with a mid-sized arena that is affordable but with room to grow. That arena is Roberts Stadium, and it comes with plenty of room for tailgating.
By investing in the Rage, we will be improving and promoting our local teams while maintaining the financial solvency of Roberts Stadium at the same time. There really is no reason not to invest in the Rage with Roberts Stadium as this is a rare opportunity for both the city and the private sector to improve themselves.
Congratulations Evansville Rage and I hope to see you playing next season in Roberts Stadium!
There are some people who are so good at marketing that they could sell surf boards to Eskimos. On the flip side, there are some people who are so bad at marketing that they couldn't even sell a gallon of water to a farmer in a desert.
Here in Evansville, we don't need a top notch marketer to understand what it takes to sell Roberts Stadium and our ball fields project to the locals, those in our region, and those living outside of our general vicinity. Yet time after time our city leaders have failed to incorporate the basic fabric of Evansville's competitive advantages into a plan for Roberts Stadium or our ball fields project. What are they missing and what can we do to incorporate these characteristics?
Evansville is in the heart of Hoosier Hysteria & Kentucky Bluegrass Basketball
Evansville has been given a gift like no other with Roberts Stadium. Both the arena's history as well as its location can be huge marketing tools for the city if properly utilized.
MGM DVD
The saddest part about this whole Roberts Stadium debate is that if our local leaders really and truly understood what role this venue has played in the history of Indiana basketball demolition wouldn't have ever been an option. Very few people know that Roberts Stadium is the biggest arena designed by Evansville architect Ralph Legeman. They also don't know that Legeman owns the patent for the fieldhouse design which he acquired in 1956. Because of Legeman...
- Indiana has 12 of the 15 largest high school gymnasiums in the country, including 9 out of the top 10.
- Indiana has the largest gymnasium- New Castle Fieldhouse- for which Legeman was the architect of. Today the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is located next to it.
- Indiana basketball is now known as Hoosier Hysteria because of the enormous gymnasiums Legeman built. Indiana's passion for basketball was already observed and written about by basketball's inventor, James Naismith. In 1925, Naismith visited an Indiana basketball state finals game along with 15,000 screaming fans and later wrote, that while it was invented in Massachusetts, "basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport." Legeman took Indiana basketball to the level it is today.
- Bankers Life Fieldhouse, formerly Conseco Fieldhouse, serves as the home to the NBA's Indiana Pacers and pays tribute to the fieldhouses that were designed by Legeman in the state of Indiana.
It's no secret that basketball is king in the state of Indiana, and Evansville native & Roberts Stadium architect Ralph Legeman played a huge role in this. It's also no secret that basketball is a way of life in the state of Kentucky as well.
Photo Credit: Ryan Clark
The "Sweet Sixteen" in Kentucky high school basketball is one of the most legendary tournaments in the country and even inspired the NCAA to name the 3rd round of their tournament the "Sweet Sixteen."
Kentucky's love for the game of basketball has carried over to the college level as well where the Universities of Louisville and Kentucky consistently rank in the top 5/10 in attendance each year during NCAA basketball season.
The state is home to UK which is the NCAA's all-time winningest program and U of L which is the NCAA's most profitable basketball program.
Amazingly enough, Roberts Stadium is centered right in the middle of this basketball border war...
Graphic By Michael Roberts
How can we take advantage of this competitive advantage?
It makes absolutely no sense to tear down an arena that is located in the heart of basketball country and was built by one of the greatest architects in basketball arena history. Furthermore, it makes no sense not to schedule high school basketball games, tournaments, and classics at Roberts Stadium due to the new NCAA rule prohibiting these events from taking place at Division 1 home courts such as the Ford Center.
To go with our high school basketball games, there is an ample amount of college basketball teams who would love to schedule preseason and postseason tournaments at Roberts Stadium, most notably USI who would help us bring back the GLVC Tournament due to the arena having a lower cost structure. These tournaments would consist of both local residents as well as out-of-town tourists who would do what the ECVB is wanting us to do- put heads in beds.
One of the main tenants that I want to see at Roberts Stadium is the NBDL (National Basketball Developmental League). We are watching too many cities that are smaller than us get a team while we are left in the cold because we don't have a mid-sized arena to attract one. The NBDL features players who have played at Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Louisville, Western Kentucky, and many other local universities that attract fan interest. However, Shy Ely, a graduate of UE, would be the biggest draw for NBDL games.
Couple high school basketball games, college basketball games, and NBDL basketball games together and you've got enough activity to keep Roberts Stadium functionally solvent. But when you add BMX tournaments, mid-sized concerts, indoor lacrosse, Evansville Rage indoor football, in-line skating, and youth sports tournaments, you have an arena that will continue to reap huge rewards for the city of Evansville both directly with its revenue and indirectly with hotel night rentals.
But what about our baseball competitive advantage?
Although Evansville is not on the border of two devout baseball states like it is basketball, it is still in the middle of baseball country. To the west of us, we have the St. Louis Cardinals owners of 11 World Series Titles. To the east of us, we have the Cincinnati Reds who were the home to the legendary "Big Red Machine" back in the 1970's. And to the north, we have the Chicago Cubs who have called historic Wrigley Field home for almost 100 years. We also have White Sox, Braves, Royals, and Tigers fans scattered through out our city due to the proximity to their teams.
flickr.com member NotreDameIrish
Even better is the fact that Evansville is the home to the third oldest active ballpark- Bosse Field- which moved up a notch in 2008 with the demolition of Tiger Stadium. Not only is Bosse Field the third oldest active ballpark, it was one of the main sites where the film, "A League of Their Own" was filmed. This film was so successful in marketing Evansville that you can now find a poster of it in the ECVB headquarters even today. If that isn't a big enough competitive advantage, Bosse Field is also located in Garvin Park which is the home to Don Mattingly's youth baseball field (yellow circle)...
How do we take advantage of these competitive advantages?
Like Roberts Stadium, we DO NOT need to reinvent the wheel nor do we need to do anything that hasn't already been done before.
We've seen Aberdeen, Maryland take advantage of their town being the hometown of MLB great Cal Ripken Jr. by working with Cal on building Ripken Academy. We've also seen Cooperstown, NY take advantage of their rich baseball history by building their ball fields close to their historic ballpark and the MLB Hall of Fame. Lastly, we are now watching Dyersville, IA take advantage of being the host site to the film "Film of Dreams" by building their ball fields next to the site of the movie.
Evansville is in an extremely unique position in the fact that Bosse Field has all three of the above characteristics in one area. Therefore, the logical step is to build your ball fields there especially given the other facts that the central location is best for all sides of town and the neighborhood is in dire need of an economic stimulus.
Building the ball fields to replicate vintage MLB ball fields, like the organization Big League Dreams does, will reinforce all of these characteristics into the ball fields complex itself. From there, we can take advantage of having Bob Walthers' Golf-N-Fun next door for party activities that accompany ball field development projects. We can also use Bosse Field on Otters off days to play championship games so that girls softball can play on the same site as the film "A League of Their Own" and the Otters can increase revenue on off days. This will be critical once the city decides they want to revisit the downtown ballpark idea once more.
In Summary
I've tried to understand why the ECVB and our past city leaders want us to believe that a baseball project on basketball land while leaving a golf driving range on baseball land and not on golf land at Hamilton Golf Course is a good idea. But in the end, I just don't understand ANY of it.
I know I will probably never get the answers to these questions, but I will keep asking them until they get answered. If we can't sell basketball at Roberts Stadium to Hoosiers and Kentuckians, and if we can't sell baseball to those around Bosse Field on North Main Street, WHAT CAN WE SELL?
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...
""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?...
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?...
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?
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?"....
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?...
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.
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 BOKCenter, or BankofOklahomaCenter, 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.
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 SpiritBankEventCenter 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?
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!
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
- ""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...
"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...
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!
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...
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...
- 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...
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!
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...
"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...
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!
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....
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!
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...
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!
