Save Roberts Stadium in the Courier & Press

Today, this blog was featured in a news story about saving Roberts Stadium. I sat down with C&P reporter Dan Shaw last Thursday for this interview and I must say I am very impressed with his work. I am only going to give you a piece of the article, I would like for you to visit their website for the rest of it. Here's part of the article...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/dec/12/stadium-could-get-reprieve/

Roberts Stadium could get reprieve
Group hopes to save 54-year-old facility
By Dan Shaw

EVANSVILLE — When a crowd filled Roberts Stadium's seats last week to witness the University of Evansville Purple Aces' ill-fated attempt to beat the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, many in the audience no doubt believed it was a good time to bid a fond farewell to the 54-year-old venue.

With Evansville's new Downtown arena set to make the Aces its primary tenant soon after its opening in November 2011, and with a plan still under consideration to demolish the stadium to make room for baseball and softball fields, fans watching from the sides likely thought the chances slim that so many people would again gather under the stadium's roof.

Yet, in the midst of so much certainty about the impending demolition of Roberts Stadium, those who favor saving the old stadium have found new reason for encouragement.

The chief cause of their change in spirits is the news that members of the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau — the driving force behind the campaign to build ball fields at Wesselman Park and the stadium site — are looking at undertaking the project elsewhere.

They say the Wesselman and stadium sites remain their preferences, but they can't continue with their previous plans without the support of local officials, which has been tepid.

Such nods to political realities have put new wind into the sails of Jordan Baer, a 25-year-old Evansville native who made his opposition to the demolition of Roberts Stadium public about five months ago by starting the website saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com.

Baer has used the blog to propose nine ways to reuse Roberts Stadium, including making it into a botanical garden, a natatorium complete with an Olympic-sized swimming pool or an indoor recreational center.

Baer said he recently pitched his ideas to Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel. During that brief meeting, the mayor posed the same question he has asked of anyone who has come forward with a proposed reuse of the stadium: How will we pay for it?

Baer acknowledges he has no precise answer. But he thinks one would become evident if city officials would only set their sights on saving Roberts Stadium rather than demolishing it. He said he thinks private entrepreneurs would be interested in pursuing one of his ideas if they could enter into a partnership with the city.

Or, he said, city officials could draw the money needed to convert the stadium from the local innkeepers tax, which can go only to projects that hold promise of attracting tourists to Vanderburgh County.

The same innkeepers tax was to be the primary revenue source used for the ball fields proposed by the visitors bureau. Baer said the choice of a different site for that project — such as Kleymeyer Park — would make some of that money available for other proposals. A change in location, for one, would prevent the visitors bureau from having to go to lengths to protect the Wesselman Nature Preserve from pollution.

Wherever the money comes from, Baer says much less of it is needed than is commonly assumed. He noted that the figures usually bandied about as an estimated renovation cost for the stadium are, in fact, the estimated cost of making the stadium meet the standards of a modern arena.

In May 2008, The Gateway Group, a consulting firm hired by the city to study Evansville's need for a new arena, concluded that Roberts Stadium would never be a venue for ice hockey, certain concerts or other large events without an expenditure totaling between $38.2 million and $89.9 million. Given the price tag, Baer said he supports city officials' decision to build an arena Downtown.

But the same consultant's report, Baer notes, puts the price of keeping Roberts Stadium in its current condition at $12.8 million to $17.3 million. And of those costs, Baer thinks many can be avoided if the stadium is preserved for a modest use, although $3 million to $5 million likely will be needed to bring the building's restrooms into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Baer noted that the city found nearly $19.4 million to put toward a renovation of Roberts Stadium in 1990 and has since spent more than $1 million making further improvements to the building. With so much invested, he asked, why the rush to knock it down?