(photo credit: mambosports.com)As most of you know, the whole idea of demolishing Roberts Stadium began last year when the ECVB told us that we needed to move forward by demolishing Roberts Stadium and building 8 softball fields on the site.
It was sold as a lavish plan that would get Evansville moving forward. We were told that building these 8 fields, reconstructing the sand volleyball courts, the hand ball courts, the basketball courts, and renovating the current ADA parks was the best possible plan for spending the Innkeepers Tax revenue. Here was the complete plan in case you're still interested in it...
http://www.theparkevansville.com/index.php
Aside from the obvious problem of demolishing a historic arena that has been the backbone of Evansville for 55 years, there were many other problems with this plan too. These problems were...
1. The costs for this development were much higher than comparable facilities.
2. The revenue and attendance projections for the ball fields were unrealistic.
3. The ball fields were dull, boring, and normal. They did nothing to inspire you to come play ball there. (We need to build these at Kleymeyer Park: bigleaguedreams.com)
4. The maintenance costs for the ball fields were estimated to be between $300,000 and $500,000. These costs would have been greater than or equal to the costs to maintain Roberts Stadium.
5. The group in charge of this project COMPLETELY failed to recognize that while they were taking one step forward with youth baseball, they were taking another step backward from youth indoor soccer and basketball.
What do I mean by point #5?
The other day, I was talking to the gentleman who is interested in working on a partnership for Roberts Stadium. Like I said earlier, this man already has one team playing here in Evansville, has acquired the rights to another one, and is going after a third team as we speak. He also has deep connections to mid-sized arena concert performers. He cannot afford the new arena but needs a much bigger place than the coliseum. To be exact, he is looking for a mid-sized venue that seats 4,000-6,000 seats.
To accomplish this capacity and to make the playing surface wide enough for events such as indoor soccer, football, and minor league basketball, we will need to raise the floor back up. This will also give us the opportunity to shut the water pumps off which will save us tremendously on costs.
While I was talking to him, we were brainstorming events that could be placed inside Roberts Stadium on off days. I asked him what he could recruit to Roberts Stadium. He said that if we raised the floor back up, we would then have a golden opportunity to recruit youth and amateur indoor soccer and basketball tournaments which he also has connections too.
This concept begs the question: Why would we want to tear down Roberts Stadium which could provide us with youth and amateur soccer and basketball tournaments to build 8 ball fields that would only bring in youth and amateur baseball?
Let's take a look at Blaine, Minnesota, THE town for youth and amateur sports...
(photo credit: ticketmaster.com)http://www.nscsports.org/index.htm
The National Sports Center in Blaine has it all. Let's take a look at their facilities...
http://www.nscsports.org/facilities/index.stm
Sports and Meeting Facilities
The National Sports Center has one of the most unique collections of sporting and meeting facilities in the world. Most facilities of this type are only available on college campuses where access is limited to students. The NSC serves the amateur sports community with meeting space and sport facilities for numerous sports. Soccer, hockey, golf, track cycling, track and field, figure skating, lacrosse, ultimate, broomball, football and rugby are sports that are currently served by our facilities.
Sports Facilities
Victory Links Golf Course
This is the only PGA Tour-designed public golf course in the state of Minnesota. The links-style course also features Tournament Green Putting Course, a full-service clubhouse and driving range. Victory Links conducts numerous clinics, programs and leagues for all ages.
Schwan Super Rink
Eight sheets of ice under one roof! This is the largest ice arena complex in the world and home to the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team. The Schwan Super Rink hosts tournaments, leagues and development programs year-round.
Sports Hall
This versatile 58,000 square foot indoor facility is used for multiple sports as well as non-sport events. State of the art FieldTurf® surface allows for the ultimate flexibility of use. Locker rooms are conveniently located adjacent to the Sports Hall.
Athletic Fields
One the most striking things about the NSC when arriving on campus is the number of fields. The facility currently boasts 52 fields that can be used for soccer, rugby, lacrosse, ultimate disc and other outdoor field sports.
Stadium
The 8,500 seat NSC Stadium has hosted numerous events, from U.S. National Team soccer games to the Opening Ceremony of Schwan's USA CUP. The facility also is a perfect location for concerts and festivals.
Velodrome
The NSC Velodrome is 250-meters of pure adrenaline. Pitched 42-degrees in the corners, our all-wood cycling velodrome features some of the most exciting action on campus. The NSC Velodrome has hosted numerous high-level cycling events as well as our weekly race series. The cycling staff also offers classes for first-time riders who want to experience the rush of track cycling. Find out more about the NSC Velodrome...
Meeting Facilities
Schwan Center
The Schwan Center is a multi-dimensional conference facility that can host anything from small group meetings for ten to large 500 person events. The facility has the flexibility that is only limited to the imagination of planners!
Sports Hall
The NSC Sports Hall is the perfect venue for large-scale events and functions. State of the art FieldTurf® surface allows for the ultimate flexibility of use. Locker rooms are conveniently located adjacent to the Sports Hall.
Residence Hall
The NSC Residence Hall, a 180-bed dormitory with an adjoining cafeteria, is perfect for retreats, residence camps, and tournaments requiring on-site housing. The building is connected to the NSC Sports Hall and main administrative offices.
Parking
The NSC has various parking facilities across the campus and is flexible enough to host ride-and-drive events and other community functions.
Truth be told, Evansville has zero facilities that could compete with Blaine's National Sports Center on size or quality, but we do have comparable facilities although they are not in a centralized location. First, let's breakdown how we compare with Blaine on facilities without factoring in what we can do with Roberts Stadium...
Victory Links Golf Course- We have several golf courses here including the golf course in Wesselman Park. Why don't we work on bringing Hamilton Golf Course on Highway 41 up to PGA quality?
Schwan Super Rink- We have a very young and high quality Swonder Ice Rink. It would be nice to have eight sheets of ice there one day, but we should be proud of what we already have.
Sports Hall- The closest we can get to this facility is the Metro Center on our east side, which is where I practiced for Mater Dei football the week before we played at the RCA Dome, and the Evansville Basketball Academy on the east side. Both are great places for the locals to go an polish their skills but certainly not large enough (seating capacity or field size) to handle both premier local youth/amateur tournaments/events, premier traveling/national youth/amateur events, and minor league sports at the same time as well as concerts and festivals.
Athletic Fields- Although we don't have 52 fields (That is just amazing!), we have the Goebel Soccer Complex which can be used for soccer, rugby, lacrosse, ultimate disc and other outdoor field sports.
Stadium- Here's where we have NOTHING in any way, shape, or form that could compare to this 8,500 seat facility that hosts numerous events such as the U.S. National Team soccer games, the Opening Ceremony of Schwan's USA CUP, concerts and festivals. Yes we have Reitz Bowl, Central Stadium, Bosse Field, and Enlow Field, but they are too booked with professional or high school events to host youth and amateur events. Big hole to fill here!
Velodrome- To my knowledge, we have zero velodromes here, just an outdoor skate park. In a few posts before this one, we heard from Save Roberts Stadium supporter Joe Gaiter that he has to drive to Cleveland and Milwaukee to go to this type of facility.
Meeting Facilities- We have zero meeting facilities that resemble Blaine's Schwan Center, Sports Hall (meeting area), Residence Hall, or parking for ride-and-drive events.
After comparing how we stack up with Blaine's National Sports Center, let's see how many holes Roberts Stadium can fill...
Stadium- While we probably won't see a non-high school outdoor stadium here in Evansville for a while, Roberts Stadium obviously fills the indoor arena hole perfectly. Although we may not keep its capacity at 8,500 or above, we will still have a large enough arena to go after the same events that Blaine does for its sports hall. We can go after large youth and amateur indoor soccer tournaments, basketball tournaments, and fill in the rest of the dates with our 2-3 minor league teams, concerts, and festivals.
Velodrome- If we go with the raised floor stadium concept, Roberts Stadium will not be able to fill this hole. However, there is plenty of room in the complex for future construction of a velodrome which would fit in nicely with a mid-sized Roberts Stadium, Swonder Ice Rink, and Hartke Pool.
Meeting Facilities- Most people do not know this, but Roberts Stadium has not one but two meeting rooms. One meeting room is 48x47, and the other is 60x47. Their seating capacity individually is...
Theatre- 136
Classroom- 120
Banquet (60" rounds)- 120
Reception- 136
Conference- 50
If you combine the two rooms, the general capacity is 378.
These two meeting rooms are comparable to Blaine's Schwan Center. Roberts Stadium's locker rooms and large playing surface can compare directly to Blaine's Sports Hall, although we may have a few scheduling conflicts if we add minor league sports. Lastly, we also have a 4,000 car parking lot at Roberts Stadium that can host ride-and-drive events which would be crucial for us since our facilities are scattered across town.
Youth soccer and basketball tournament planners will take these two conference rooms, Roberts Stadium's locker rooms, seating capacity, and large playing surface, as well as its 4,000 car parking lot into consideration when choosing a site to host their event(s). Why would we want to pay to demolish a facility that can provide us with so many recruiting tools for youth and amateur soccer and basketball tournaments that currently aren't available here?
Another great thing about using Roberts Stadium for youth/amateur sports is that it would be improving our parks department as well. Currently the parks department hosts basketball, volleyball, and many other sports at the tiny C.K Newsome Center...
http://www.evansvillegov.org/Index.aspx?page=616
The Sports Department offers adult recreational programs for Men's, Women’s and Co-Ed teams in different skill levels for Basketball, Flag Football, Indoor Volleyball, Sand Volleyball, Soccer, and Softball. The Sports Department schedules and manages over 1,200 teams each year with an estimated 10,000 program participants for all leagues.
This would be a huge upgrade for the parks department who would be able to move most of their indoor sports leagues into Roberts Stadium.
Like I said earlier on this blog, I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with Mr. David Dunn's idea of bringing youth baseball tournaments to Evansville. If our hotel industry is going to thrive, we must put heads in beds which is what our Innkeepers Tax is designed to do.
But I have to ask: How does paying to demolish a facility that is fully capable of hosting youth/amateur soccer and basketball tournaments, meetings, and ride-and-drive events improve our chances of putting heads in beds?
The good thing about it is that Roberts Stadium is already built. All we have to do is raise its floor back up, and update some of its interior. There will STILL be plenty of Innkeepers Tax revenue left to pursue building 8 ball fields that replicate vintage MLB ballparks at the Kleymeyer Park site with the championship game taking place at historic Bosse Field.
Blaine's National Sports Center has set the bar quite high. 8 ice sheets, 52 soccer fields, several meeting facilities with dorms, an 8,500 seat stadium, and many other facilities in the same complex is quite impressive. However, I hold big aspirations for our town as well. I truly believe we can build great facilities for youth and amateur sports as well. But, if we are going to do this, we have to take two steps forward not one step forward/ one step backward.
Why don't we keep Roberts Stadium AND build the ball fields? Once more, EVERYONE WOULD WIN!
(photo credit: attainable-utopias.org)
No comments:
Post a Comment