It's been over half of a century since the Soldiers & Sailors Coliseum welcomed Roberts Stadium into the Evansville community. 55 years later, we are back to square one as we once again learn how to get two arenas to coexist with each other.
I've talked about the Conrad Baker Foundation who started out as the "Save the Coliseum" and "Save the Courthouse" organizations before converting to an official non-profit organization and taking control of the Old Courthouse, the Old Jail, and the Coliseum...
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/01/history-repeats-itself-before-save.html
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/11/just-remember-weve-been-here-before.html
But through this entire history lesson, which is eerily and scarily similar to our current situation, we have never looked at what mayor Hank Roberts himself did for the Coliseum. Did he fight to demolish it? Did he believe it would compete with Roberts Stadium? Did he refuse to consider reuse alternatives? Did he turn into a puppet for those who feared that the Coliseum would turn into a "white elephant?"
Although history is repeating itself, the difference between the way the Hank Roberts administration handled the Coliseum versus the way the current administration is handling the Roberts Stadium situation are 180 degrees apart. Let's dive into what Hank Roberts said about the Coliseum...
(click on photo or link to enlarge)
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=940297
"With all the need for space in the Courthouse now, I should think it would cost less to make an office building out of the Coliseum than it would to make an auditorium."
This is an important quote that mayor Roberts gave us for three reasons...
1. It shows that mayor Roberts never gave in to the pressure coming from those who believed the Coliseum would turn into a "white elephant."
2. It shows that mayor Roberts had the courage to pick his own idea for the Coliseum even though the auditorium plan won out over his office building idea.
3. The article was published in 1953, a whole 3 years before Roberts Stadium was constructed. This article and quote shows that mayor Roberts had already begun planning for the Coliseum's future long before he built Roberts Stadium so that it would not be stuck in limbo afterwards. There is no doubt that the Coliseum still stands because of this move mayor Roberts made.
If we scroll down to the bottom of the article, we find more leadership from mayor Roberts...
"Mayor Roberts said future use of the Coliseum would have no bearing on the city's plans for sportscenter, auditorium, and museum buildings."
So now we've got city leaders fearing that the Coliseum would turn into a "white elephant" that would also compete with Roberts Stadium. Is any of this starting to sound familiar to you now?
If you drive by the Coliseum today, you can't help but laugh at the notion that it is a "white elephant" or that it could steal business away from Roberts Stadium. In time, those who are saying these things about Roberts Stadium will look like fools as well.
That's why I am proud to have Lloyd Winnecke at the controls of the city. I feel like Lloyd is one of those leaders who has the vision, the intelligence, and the discipline to look past those naysayers who have resulted to shallow and baseless scare tactics. I have all the confidence in the world that he will recognize that Roberts Stadium, which will be a mid-sized events center when the floor is raised, will not compete with the Ford Center, which is full-size premium arena meant to bring the biggest and best acts to Evansville.
Today, as we struggle to preserve the arena that mayor Hank Roberts built for us, let us remember the words, the leadership, and the vision that he gave us. Let us never forget that mayor Roberts had the vision to preserve the Coliseum as he knew it would not compete with Roberts Stadium.
Let us never forget mayor Hank Roberts. LET'S SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!
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