(Click on photo to enlarge)
Yesterday, we finally got the name for our new arena: The Ford Center.
Although I found it ironic that this deal was announced the same day I had to ante up $224 to repair my Ford, the truth is, I really don't care who sponsors it as long as we get this new arena across the finish line.
However, the main problem I have with the Ford Center is that there has already been a Ford Center. Although it is now called the Chesapeake Energy Center, Oklahoma City named their arena the Ford Center from 2002 to 2010.
As most people who follow arenas closely know, you really cannot name an arena twice and expect to get the same bang for your buck. Although the names have changed, San Francisco will always have Candlestick Park, Chicago will always have the Sears Tower, and Utah will always have the Delta Center even though each of these buildings has given up their names (although San Francisco has gotten theirs back). When someone says Ford Center, Oklahoma City will still get the recognition.
There are a few other facilities named Ford Center as well...
Stanford has a Ford Center...
http://www.gostanford.com/facilities/stan-burnham.html
Ole Miss has a Ford Center...
http://www.fordcenter.org/
Michigan Tech has a Ford Center...
http://fordcenter.mtu.edu/
A few years ago, I attended the Oklahoma City Shootout at the Ford Center and took some pictures that I would like to share with you....
(Click on photos to enlarge)
As you can see from the pictures, their Ford Center is much bigger than our Ford Center, and has since attracted the NBA's Seattle Supersonics since I last visited there. Their arena isn't just a regional draw like ours, it is a national and international draw with the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. Therefore, we should not try to go head-to-head with their arena.
What should our new arena be called? Simply put: Ford Fieldhouse. Here is why...
1. Evansville native Ralph Legeman, who was the architect for Roberts Stadium and the old North High School gymnasium, still holds the patent for the fieldhouse design. Evansville is home to the creator of the fieldhouse, shouldn't we honor that?
2. Ford Fieldhouse has a better ring to it than the Ford Center.
3. Only one facility has "Ford Fieldhouse" and it is a community center that is called the Gerald R Ford Fieldhouse which would be a different name than our sponsor.
4. We already have a Centre next door. There is no need to further confuse patrons of the new arena.
5. This is Indiana, we play in fieldhouses not arenas, centers, centres, or anything else.
One of the best fieldhouses around is Conseco Fieldhouse...
(mswoods.com)
Indianapolis did a magnificent job constructing the entrance to their fieldhouse. Shouldn't we do the same? Don't get me wrong, I am dying for Evansville to replicate every single thing Oklahoma City does including the MAPS program that built the original Ford Center...
http://evansvillemovingforward.blogspot.com/2011/08/if-next-mayor-wants-to-create-jobs-he.html
However, if we want our arena to be unique, bold, and distinctive, we will do the right thing and make the necessary minor correction. Let's go with FORD FIELDHOUSE!
(logo credit: Ford Motor Co, photo credit: mobilemarketingwatch.com)
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