Late one night, I decided to dig through the archives of the Courier & Press to see how the Roberts Stadium issue played out in the years before construction.
For anyone interested in looking through Evansville's history, please visit this site: http://local.evpl.org/ - It is the best site for looking up the history of Evansville.
As I was digging through the archives, I found some very interesting news stories. Apparently, history has repeated itself. Before, my "Save Roberts Stadium" initiative, there was a "Save the Coliseum" initiative. This group, which was the Conrad Baker Foundation (first person from this area to be governor) believed that it was in the best interest of our city to maintain the historic Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Coliseum. Here is the news clip...
Note: These clippings are very small on this site, you can view them directly by copy and pasting the links on top of them or by clicking on the clippings themselves.
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940172
As Roberts Stadium was being planned, city leaders went out of their way to seek alternative reuses for the Coliseum instead of just jumping to the early conclusion of demolishing it. In fact, H.O Roberts himself believed the Coliseum should have been an office building annex of the Old Courthouse...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940099
However, city officials were also exploring the idea of simply scaling the Coliseum back to an auditorium size facility...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940297
In the end, they elected to go with the auditorium plan because as city officials were planning for Roberts Stadium, they were wanting a sportscenter designed like a fieldhouse (Roberts Stadium), an auditorium (which is what the coliseum became), and some museum buildings (not sure if anything materialized from that)...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940557
You want to know how eerily similiar the current Roberts Stadium situation is to the Coliseum situation of the past? Even the Jehovah Witness' were involved in the Coliseum situation...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=946157
After the Coliseum was scaled back to an auditorium, it became a huge success...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940197
But then, the coliseum ran into danger again. In 1967, several city officials began questioning the viability of the Old Courthouse next door. In fact, they believed that demolition was the best option...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=952756
Luckily, the Conrad Baker Foundation stepped in...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=952764
They were given one year to come up with a plan, and indeed they found a plan well within that time frame...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=951539
Although the old courthouse and old jail were saved (partially because of the Conrad Baker Foundation, partially because the Old Courthouse had stones that were too expensive to demolish), it opened up the questioning about the Coliseum once more. The Old Courthouse, Old Jail, and Coliseum were all on the same heating and cooling system and by 1970, the Coliseum began showing its age again...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940101
Five years before, even the ghosts of the Old Wabash & Erie Canal (it should be redug in my opinion) were after the Coliseum...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=949388
Thankfully, the Coliseum had supporters once more. This time, the local veterans stood up for the historic building...
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940136
It is with great pleasure that I can tell you that all of the Old Courthouse, Old Jail, and the Coliseum STILL STAND TODAY!
So with that being said, what lessons can we learn this time around...
1. Many people were against the construction of Roberts Stadium because they feared it would run the Coliseum into the ground. That wasn't true. Roberts Stadium has brought all kinds of legends, events, and tournaments to town that would have never came if we would have stuck with the Coliseum only. Furthermore, could you imagine if the Aces were still playing in the Coliseum? The new arena is a massive step in the right direction for both the Aces and the city of Evansville and we must support it.
2. With Roberts Stadium opening up, many feared that the Coliseum would become a "white elephant." While the Coliseum isn't a major cash cow today, I think it's safe to say we are all better off for having this great and historic venue still in our city (as well as the courthouse and jail). There's nothing greater than going through that part of downtown. Furthermore, it still hosts events today. Several years ago my high school prom was there and I'm sure most others who went to school around here can say the same thing. We must realize that saving Roberts Stadium is the proper thing to do as well and it will not compete with the new arena.
3. Fixing the Coliseum was simple. All they did was scale it back. With Roberts', all we have to do is raise the floor back up a few feet and we can host many events and teams that will never be able to afford the new arena but need something bigger than the Coliseum.
4. Evansville wins when city leaders work with us not against us. As you read through those articles, you will notice that the Mayor, the city and county councils, the commissioners, and the Chamber of Commerce all came together to help (not fight) the Conrad Baker Foundation(Save the Coliseum) to find a solution to save the Coliseum and it worked! I'm asking all of these organizations to do the same for Roberts Stadium. We must work together for Evansville and Roberts Stadium.
5. Don't believe everything you hear. Many people were led to believe there was no saving the courthouse, jail, or Coliseum due to the aging condition of these buildings and the faulty systems going out in these facilities. However, there was a solution and the Conrad Baker Foundation/Save the Coliseum organization found it and IT WORKED! Don't think for a moment that we cannot Save Roberts Stadium.
6. We must do this right the first time. If we implement a duct tape solution for Roberts Stadium, we are going to find ourselves back to square one like the Coliseum group did 14 years after Roberts Stadium opened. We must find a solution that will make sure Roberts Stadium is good to go for many, many years to come.
Although it may seem like we are in unchartered territory with Roberts Stadium we are not. We are in a classic case of history repeating itself. The first time around, the people who wanted to save the Coliseum were on the right side of history, and it proved to be a success. Now, let's make sure we are on the right side of history again by saving Roberts Stadium!
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