As a diehard fan of stadiums, ballparks, and arenas of the past, present, and future, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to sign the final beam that will be placed in the new arena downtown. Although it rained quite hard that day, I made sure I got off work in time to sign it. However, I didn't just sign my name on the beam, I left a special message on it.
With the permanent ink sharpie in my hand, I wrote, "Jordan Baer Save Roberts Stadium." Yes, I believe that the arena situation downtown is a completely different situation than what we're facing out at Roberts Stadium. So why would I write "Save Roberts Stadium," on the beam?
Unfortunately, there will come a time when the new arena is facing the same fate that Roberts Stadium is facing right now. I fear it will be sooner than later due to the new arena not being built for the future. It will only hold 10,000-11,000 seats and it is being built on what is believed to be only a 12 foot water table. Expanding it down the road will be quite expensive. I hope the city makes the right decision to consider expanding it instead of demolishing it. I also hope the city considers expansion of it within the next 5-10 years so that the city has an arena big enough to attract the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
Nonetheless, I hope that when the city faces this dilemma, they will look to this beam and be reminded of how the situation played out with Roberts Stadium. If the arena is demolished, I hope they will save this beam to see that history had sadly repeated itself. Lastly, I hope it will show them to build sports venues and buildings correctly so that demolition of historic buildings isn't needed as often.
To my surprise, between the time that I signed the beam on Tuesday and the time I returned on Wednesday, somebody decided to take a sharpie and black out my message. Truth be told, I really don't want to know who did that. I think it would amaze us all if we really knew. Luckily, that person never guessed I would return the next day to rewrite it on there. Not only did I rewrite it back on the beam, I wrote it twice!
Whether it's demolished or preserved, Roberts Stadium will now be remembered on the new arena!
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