6th Ward City Council Candidates Are As Different As Night And Day

With just a week and a half to go before election day, the Courier & Press has been running articles all week where local political candidates have been asked the same set of questions. One of those questions deals with the fate of our beloved Roberts Stadium so I have been paying close attention to the answers, and I sure hope you have too.

It is extremely important that we pay close attention to those candidates who support Roberts Stadium and those who don't. On the right hand side of this blog, you will see the list of candidates who have pledged to save Roberts Stadium and you will also see the endorsements below it. Please support those candidates you see as they all are fully behind Roberts Stadium.

Yesterday, the Courier & Press chose the 6th Ward, which happens to be the Ward I live in, to ask the candidates 6 simple questions. The 6th Ward pits incumbent B.J Watts against challenger Al Lindsey. Although we are lucky to have some Wards where all candidates support Roberts Stadium ( such as the 3rd Ward), the 6th Ward Candidates are different as night and day on Roberts Stadium.

Here are the questions...

http://media.courierpress.com/media/static/demsward6cc.pdf

Let's breakdown the answers the 2 candidates gave us in regards to Roberts Stadium...

Q: What should be the city's plan for Roberts Stadium and how should it be paid for?

B.J. Watts

"I don't know the answer to what to do with a 60 year old building with a lot of problems..."

Several points here...

1. The first 5 words in this sentence tell us all we need to know about Mr. Watt's plan for Roberts Stadium. He has no ideas.

2. The building is NOT 60 years old. The original parts of the building are 55 years old, and the renovated parts are only 20 years old. It's kind of interesting how city hall was claiming that Roberts Stadium was renovated too much to get it placed on the historical list and away from demolition for the ball fields, but now it is too old to be saved?

3. Mr. Watts is CLEARLY drinking the Weinzapfel kool-aid here if he believes Roberts Stadium has " a lot of problems." Roberts Stadium is in a much better shape than city hall would like for you to believe...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2010/11/rumors-of-roberts-stadiums-demise-has.html
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2010/12/hntb-existing-roberts-stadium-building.html

"Roberts Stadium has been a huge part of the success of Evansville over the past 50 years, but it has done all it came here to do."

So now we have a 60 year old venue with only 50 years of success? Sounds like some fuzzy math is going on here, especially since it has been over 55 years ago that Hank Roberts fought to the bitter end to get Roberts Stadium built.

The last part of that sentence tells us what Mr. Watts' true intentions are for Roberts Stadium: demolition. I still question how city hall can claim that Roberts Stadium is functionally obsolete when they have refused to study reuse alternatives. They would rather Roberts Stadium disappear into the middle of the night and be done with it.

"If our city wants to continue to grow and bring new industry we have to look to the next 50 years, not focus on the past 50 years."

Yes, the residents here in the 6th Ward definitely need to look to the next 50 years by electing Al Lindsey rather than focusing on the past 10 years in the 6th Ward which have been horrendous at best.

Also, what does Roberts Stadium have to do with bringing new industries to Evansville? Does Mr. Watts propose slapping a huge warehouse on the lot? Is he referring to the softball industry where the fields would be better served at Kleymeyer Park with vintage MLB style fields?

And how in the world will demolishing Roberts Stadium bring new industries to Evansville? Did demolishing the old Sterling Brewery bring new industries to town? What about the demolition of the old L&N station? The answer is no, both sites are still flat open fields.

Ironically, if Mr. Watts' father-in-law David Mosby would have simply listened to the experts we wouldn't even be in this position...

http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=931099

If David Mosby would have voted against digging six feet into the soil we would probably have...

1. A Roberts Stadium in its full, original form without any water pumps

2. A downtown arena with USI as the main tenant ( the alternative proposal in the late 80s/ early 90s) possibly awaiting a new renovation and possibly awaiting the Aces moving in.

3. A stronger downtown Evansville.

It is very important that we put the right people in office who are going to make the right decisions that are best for our historic Roberts Stadium.


Al Lindsey

"Save it, reinvent it, using the ideas from the citizens,..."

This right here is the perfect answer for people like us who want to save this Evansville icon. It also happens to be the correct answer. Saving Roberts Stadium under the plan I have been advocating for will allow for us to tap into the mid-sized arena economy which would be non-existent if we demolish Roberts Stadium. There's the answer to your "new industries" problem.

"...use the same funding mechanism that was to be used to raze it and to build 18 million dollars worth of ball fields."

EXACTLY! How can those who support demolition claim that it's necessary to save money when the only plan brought forward was to cost 18 million dollars? The truth is, demolition is a zero-sum game and city hall needs to start focusing their money on saving not demolishing Roberts Stadium...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/04/demolition-is-zero-sum-game.html

I would also like to add that Mr. Lindsey is fully committed to the Save Roberts Stadium movement. Mr. Lindsey was one of the first people to order a "Save Roberts Stadium" shirt when I began distributing them.

When I dropped the shirt off at the fire station that Mr. Lindsey was working at, he was initially just a few pennies short. I told Mr. Lindsey not to worry about just a few pennies but he insisted otherwise. He told me, " Every penny matters when it comes to saving this great venue." Al then went out to his vehicle in the parking lot and dug until he found those final few pennies. In my opinion, we have the opportunity to elect the next "Honest Abe" Lincoln.

As you can see, the two democratic candidates for the 6th Ward City Council are as different as night and day. One candidate is fully committed to saving this great venue while the other is fully committed to the idea that Roberts Stadium has seen its best days come and go.

If we are going to have any shot at saving this Evansville icon, we MUST put the right people in office. For those living in the 6th Ward, that is voting for Al Lindsey. I hope you will continue to support the Save Roberts Stadium movement by putting Roberts Stadium supporter Al Lindsey on the city council!