Perhaps They're Trying To Demolish The Wrong Building

(southwestindiana.biz)

With the greatest of ease, city hall has told us that Roberts Stadium must go. They want us to believe that Roberts Stadium is the worst building inside the city limits and we'd be better off without it. They are still trying to convince you that Roberts Stadium is dragging the whole city down with it.

What city hall doesn't tell you is that they are blatant hypocrites. Ironically, to see this hypocrisy our government leaders don't even have to walk outside of the building they work in.

It's been quite a few years since Evansville replaced the Coliseum with Roberts Stadium and the Old Courthouse with the current Civic Center. Since those days, the paths these facilities have taken has been as different as night and day.

Let's take a look at some of the comparisons between Roberts Stadium and the Evansville Civic Center...

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Roberts Stadium- Has served as the home to many legends such as Coach Jerry Sloan, Larry Humes, Coach Arad McCutchan, and the 1977 Ace's men's basketball team

Evansville Civic Center- Use to house all of Evansville's criminals, still houses politicians

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Roberts Stadium- Protects Wesselman Park from the busy intersection of Boeke and the Lloyd Expressway

Evansville Civic Center- Prevents North Main Street from connecting to South Main Street and Downtown Evansville

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Roberts Stadium- Has used water pumps successfully for almost 20 years

Evansville Civic Center- Could have used a few water pumps this year: http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=234206

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Roberts Stadium- Spends an estimated $300,000 of taxpayer dollars each year in mothball formation

Evansville Civic Center- Spends an estimated $236 million this year and calls it a "city budget"

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Roberts Stadium- Was designed by legendary architect Ralph Legeman which propelled Legeman into inventing and patenting the fieldhouse design

Evansville Civic Center- Was designed by a no-name company in Chicago who used cheap bricks:
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=924742


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Roberts Stadium- Free and ample parking with no time limits

Evansville Civic Center- You better make sure your car is on the move every hour or pay a hefty price, and that's if you're lucky enough to get an unmetered parking spot

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Roberts Stadium- Was nicknamed "Hanks Tank" but is now loved by the locals

Evansville Civic Center- Was originally suppose to be "an economic uplift for the entire city" but has yet to prove this as the entire city has given up on it. In fact, there isn't even a single hotel next to it currently. Furthermore, it replaced a historic railroad station that would be highly valuable for high speed rail and light rail now

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Roberts Stadium- Housed the Home Show

Evansville Civic Center- Housed the Homestead Tax Grab Meeting

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Don't get me wrong, if we eventually make the drastic but necessary renovations to the Civic Center, it too should be kept. But to suggest that Roberts Stadium is Evansville's biggest problem, I think the comparisons speak for themselves.

While city hall tries to convince you that Roberts Stadium must go, they refuse to discuss their own building. But then again, you know what they say: THOSE IN GLASS HOUSES.

(zazzle.com)