Yes, I am going to beat yet another dead horse that I talked about back in October. For those who read this blog, you will recall I said the following about the fact that we need to recruit USI heavily to move into Roberts Stadium...
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/10/this-arena-isnt-big-enough-for-both-of.html
Since I made that post, most (I would say close to 95%) agreed with the sentiment that USI and Roberts Stadium are a perfect match, while a few (5% at best) expressed some concern. One of the comments made on the C&P message board was, "USI already has a facility, why do they need to rent Roberts Stadium?"
There are so many reasons for USI to move into Roberts Stadium (which I outlined in the above post) that I have no idea where to start, but I'm still going to try. It's been a little over 2 years since UE and USI appeared in the Evansville Courier & Press citing the need for a boost from the community...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/may/09/usi-ue-athletic-programs-need-boost/
Let me be very clear, I do not in any way interpret the above article to be "a cry for help" or "a demand for a handout or subsidy." Rather, I view this article as USI and UE telling us, "Both of our programs have an exponential amount of talent and promise. We need the Evansville community to rally behind both us, support us, invest in us, and take pride in our programs."
Over the years, both USI and UE have weathered some very strong storms.
Although I can't remember what specific year it was (I want to say late 90s/early 2000s), UE actually considered downgrading to Div III. Thanks to the many Aces supporters around town, the university decided not to make this terrible and wrong move to Div III which would have devastated the Evansville community for many years.
In regards to USI, they have survived Bruce Pearl, a college basketball icon here in Evansville, leaving for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then the University of Tennessee. This move left USI without their national championship winning coach. Then, the men's basketball team has had to survive an NCAA investigation scandal that has set them back quite a few years.
After surviving all of this, both UE and USI ran into the economic downturn in 2008 which has only improved slightly. To keep these teams afloat as well as work to improve them at the same time, our city took on the role of community supporter, but we have only completed 50% of this task.
Since 2009 when the article was written, the city of Evansville embarked on building a new downtown arena for UE. This arena, which we now call the Ford Center, is going to be a huge asset to UE both in revenue and recruiting. With the Ford Center, there is no doubt that UE can say they are better off now than they were in 2009. I'm excited for the Aces and their new opportunity, and I hope you will support them as well.
For USI though, what have we done as a city to support them? Have we worked to improve their men's basketball team? Have we given them a new arena? Do we even have a plan to take USI to the next level?
The answer to all of those questions is NO. No, we haven't worked to improve their men's (or women's for that matter) basketball team. No, we didn't build them a new arena or help them renovate one. And no, we don't have a plan at all to take USI to the next level, which is upgrading to Div I.
Obviously, the main holdup to helping USI like we have UE is money and economics (isn't that what everything boils down to?). Can we move USI into the Ford Center with UE? No, there aren't enough open dates. Can we build them a new downtown arena next to the Ford Center? No, we've already committed $127.5 million to the Ford Center which will take us approximately 30 years to pay off.
Can we give them funds to build a new arena or renovate PAC Arena on the USI campus? No, there is no TIF district out there that can fund such a project, nor would make any sense as it would place an arena miles away from any retail and would probably sacrifice USI's practice facility- PAC Arena.
Not only have we been prevented from improving USI's basketball team, it looks like it will get even worse for USI. Northern Kentucky University officially applied to move up to Div I last spring. The only holdup, the Ohio Valley Conference feared that NKU would dominate their conference!...
http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2011/11/17/nku-misses-ovc-conference-bid/
As for USI's other rival Kentucky Wesleyan, they are bolting from the GLVC...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/oct/10/kentucky-wesleyan-leaving-great-lakes-valley-confe/
Now that USI has watched SIU-Edwardsville, Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne, Kentucky Wesleyan, and soon to be Northern Kentucky bolt from the conference, only 2 teams (Bellarmine & Indianapolis) are left in the GLVC Eastern Division with USI. You would have to believe that Indianapolis is jealous of IUPUI's success in Div I sports. Bellarmine supporters are already talking about it...
http://blogs.courier-journal.com/rickbozich/2011/06/13/bellarmine-and-division-i-sports/
So with all of that being said, the time to act is NOW. We need to start being proactive not reactive. With the GLVC expanding farther into states such as Missouri, USI losing both of its travel partners in NKU and KWC will drive up expenses significantly. Remember, the C&P article from above said the following...
"That's essentially what the USI Varsity Club raises each year for scholarships. Hall said the athletic department targets another $80,000 to $100,000 in corporate sponsorship dollars and services to help fund an annual budget that is just under $2 million.
"We're not talking huge (corporate) numbers like Division I programs," said Hall. "But if that starts dipping below $75,000, it does hurt us ... This year I think we projected $90,000 with our budget, and we brought in more like $75,000, so the economy did affect us.""
The solution to improving USI basketball is money, specifically, corporate money. And although we cannot give USI funds to build a new arena, what better way to raise corporate funds than Roberts Stadium?
How can USI take advantage of Roberts Stadium?
1. Roberts Stadium has 15 luxury suites already built and just waiting for USI to move in. To my knowledge (it's been a few years since I've been in PAC), USI does not have any suites at all in PAC Arena, just an alumni room that hosts parties before games. These 15 luxury boxes would be a huge boost to USI's corporate revenue.
2. USI will take on ZERO DEBT by moving into Roberts Stadium as the facility is already built and already paid off. This is crucial for any team looking to work their way up to Division I NCAA Athletics. In future years, when USI racks up a significant amount of revenue from Roberts Stadium, they can renovate the facility. For the time being, USI can afford to upgrade their other sports to make the move up to Div I.
3. Rent will be affordable. If we raise the floor, the vast majority of the $300,000 expenses will be eliminated when the pumps are shut off permanently. Renting Roberts Stadium will be affordable to USI who probably wouldn't want to pay $10,500 a game to rent the Ford Center like UE.
4. USI will be enjoying the "economy of scale" model. What do I mean by this? USI would be playing in a 5,000-6,000 seat Roberts Stadium which is right at the attendance mark we would expect for an average USI game. Instead of playing in a half or 3/4s full Ford Center, USI will be playing in a filled Roberts Stadium. Roberts Stadium will allow USI to grow as a Div II to Div I team which is different than UE who is already Div I and in the Missouri Valley Conference as is looking to eventually fill the 10,000 + seat Ford Center every night.
5. USI's support base will grow. If you read the article, you will see that fan support increases when a team is winning or improving. Moving USI into Roberts Stadium will be a dramatic improvement and will spur instant support from USI's base of supporters.
To recap, USI can move into Roberts Stadium which will increase their revenue drastically while taking on zero debt and paying an affordable amount of rent all while freeing up time at PAC arena for other teams to practice. Is it just me or is this a no-brainer?
And let's not forget this week's theme which is "How can Lloyd Winnecke sell Roberts Stadium to the public?" Yesterday, I talked about all of the benefits we will enjoy if Lloyd couples a ball fields project at Kleymeyer Park with Roberts Stadium. This will benefit both the east side and north side of Evansville. With USI moving into Roberts Stadium, the west side will benefit as their university will be improving. He can do all of this while complimenting the Ford Center which is in downtown/south side of Evansville.
No matter if you're democrat, republican, or independent. No matter if you live on the south side, east side, west side, north side, or downtown. No matter if you want jobs, economic development, growth, preservation, or fiscal responsibility. And no matter if you're a UE or USI fan...
Saving Roberts Stadium by moving USI into Roberts Stadium, JUST MAKES SENSE!
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