Carolina Coliseum
Colonial Life Arena
In an ironic situation of symmetry, Columbia, South Carolina struggles with the same issue of what to do with two arenas. Located an estimated 600 miles away from Evansville ( one mile for every Aces victory at Roberts Stadium) with a population of 116,000 ( Evansville's is around 115,000), Columbia is in a transition from the Carolina Coliseum to the Colonial Life Arena.
http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912064227409&ShowArticle_ID=11011606091416179
Since opening for business as the state’s largest basketball and performance venue on Saturday, Nov. 30, 1968, the Carolina Coliseum — which cost a then-whopping $9 million to build (compared to Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum, which debuted the same night and cost $3.6 million) — has seen its prestige gradually fade as the Gamecocks have never again reached the heights of legendary men’s basketball coach Frank McGuire, who coached the team form 1964 to 1980. And, what’s more, at the insistence of former athletics director Mike McGee, a shiny new $64 million, 18,000-seat Colonial Life Arena opened in November of 2002 to take the very teams for whom the Coliseum was built.
For some, the lack of any acknowledgement of the occasion was another sad reminder of how far the school and building sit removed from the glory years when the Carolina Coliseum was ground zero for the nation’s best basketball; when school officials didn’t hope for the occasional sellout game, but rather expected a sellout season; when students routinely camped out for tickets; and when the thought of USC’s every home game not being broadcast on television statewide was impossible to imagine. For those fans, the Coliseum is still alive both with memories and with possibilities, and they’re hoping the school’s Board of Trustees approves plans for massive renovations that would allow the structure to assume a new identity, save it from the wrecking ball and position it as a university centerpiece well into the future.
For others, it simply was one day closer to judgment for a building well past its prime, one step closer to finally making way for a new multi-million dollar redevelopment that could potentially anchor USC’s ambitious Innovista expansion on an eight-acre, undivided tract at possibly the university’s most important corner.
But however you might feel about whether the Coliseum is an eyesore or icon, one thing is clear: After nearly a decade of passionate debate, a decision about the Coliseum’s fate is finally in sight.
There you have it, the exact same situation that Evansville finds itself in. Just like Columbia, we have two different sides on this issue. One side has no respect for history, they see anything that is not modern as a problem, they are unwilling to go find a reuse solution, and they just can't wait to tear as much down as possible. On the other side is the group who repects history, respects architecture, is willing to go and find a reuse option no matter how hard or easy that may be, and believes that you can have both modern and historical buildings at the same time.
This situation is not just playing out in Columbia and Evansville, it is going on everywhere you go (see my second post after this one). Even though I believe that we can use Roberts Stadium as an example of how to save a historical arena, Columbia isn't waiting around.
Although the city hasn't decided officially one way or another, the current outlook is very positive for the future of the Carolina Coliseum...
http://www.columbiabusinessreport.com/news/37372-university-of-south-carolina-considers-update-to-campus-master-plan
The fate of the Carolina Coliseum has been a question mark for the university for years since the basketball program moved to the Colonial Life Arena. USC administrators and trustees have debated whether to raze the structure or convert it into something entirely different. Past analysis has suggested that adaptive reuse would be very expensive compared with demolishing it and building something new.
If the trustees ultimately adopt Sasaki's master plan update, it would be the first clear signal that they aim to convert the building to other uses, such as offices and academic space, rather than destroy it and start over.
I'm confident that both the Carolina Coliseum and Roberts Stadium will be saved and that will bode well both for Columbia and Evansville.
The great fight to save our stadiums, arenas, and ballparks is on, and I don't know about you but I never shy away from a good battle. Let's SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!
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