As Roberts Stadium Comes Under Budget, The Courier & Press Catches Yellow Journalism Fever

http://barbaracolebythesea.com/2009/06/20/heres-the-scoopyellow-journalism/

You can sure tell that they are sweating bullets down at the offices of the Evansville Courier & Press. After a year and a half of seeking to destroy a perfectly healthy building that was built with the blood, sweat, and tears of our community, the C&P has entered desperation mode.

Truthfully, no one knows why the C&P is hellbent on demolishing Roberts Stadium nor does anyone know when the fallout between the two began. Some have suspected that it's because the Courier & Press didn't want to anger the Weinzapfel administration. Indeed, the C&P took a lot of heat when they reported on the past ECVB Christmas party. Others have suspected that it's because they don't want to be seen as a renegade newspaper. The C&P would anger quite a few city hall officials by doing the right thing in standing up for Roberts Stadium.

One thing we do know- the C&P will do whatever it takes to get Roberts Stadium demolished. First, they came out in support of the ball fields project even though this project would have cost $17.5 million. Then, when the ECVB let them down, they began writing editorials praising the Weinzapfel administration for exploring the project.

Then, who could forget the stunt Carolyn Franklin from the Home Show pulled back in 2010...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2010/10/something-they-dont-want-you-to-know.html

Now, with the public fully against demolishing Roberts Stadium, the C&P has caught Yellow Journalism Fever. What are the signs of Yellow Journalism Fever?...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism

1. scare headlines in huge print, often of minor news
2. lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings
3. use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudo-science, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts
4. emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips
5. dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system

There's no doubt that the C&P has Yellow Journalism Fever. To pull off their mission of demolishing Roberts Stadium, they have been teamed up with Building Authority director Dave Rector for some time. When a $3,000 water pump broke before the election, the C&P was Johnny-On-The-Spot telling us about the break (yet no mention of how much maintenance for a park would cost on the lot).

This past week, the C&P gave us one of their biggest Yellow Journalism pieces to date. Before we dive into the article, strict codes and regulations require me to notify you any time I quote an article with the C&P and Dave Rector in it...

Let's take a look at the article...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/jan/22/no-headline---ev_robertsstadium/?partner=popular

"Maintaining Roberts, which was mothballed on Sept. 18, has already rung up a tab of $73,332, as of Jan. 11, according to data provided by City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr."

Here's the funny thing about this article. The whole time the C&P was telling us about the doom and gloom of Roberts Stadium, their research just proved they and the rest of those who support demolition were wrong about the annual estimate to mothball Roberts Stadium. Let's do the math...

-From Sept 18th to January 11 is 115 days.

- $73,332 divided by 115 is approx $637.67 a day.

- To complete the yearly cycle, we will need to add 250 days.

- 250 days times $637.67 a day is $159,417.50.

- To get a yearly estimate we must add $73,332 and $159,417.50 to get a grand total of $232,749.50

Remember when the Courier & Press ran this article?...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jul/30/cost-of-roberts/?partner=RSS

"And until the next city administration decides what to do with Roberts Stadium, about $300,000 a year will be spent to keep it on life support.

And that, Rector said, is a conservative estimate.

"Let just say I was optimistic when you hear the number of $300,000," Rector said. "Any building needs constant upkeep. When it comes to Roberts, I think we're up for some serious challenges."

Remember when David Dunn said this?...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/jun/20/special-report-evansville-parks-department-isnt/

"For the fields to be built at Wesselman, research conducted by Dunn and others suggests an operating cost of between $300,000 and $500,000 a year, he said."

And remember when Dunn said this about Roberts Stadium?...

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/sep/05/visitors-bureau-addresses-ballpark-plan/

"Roberts Stadium will be vacant by the end of 2011. If The Park plan is not approved, it will cost property taxpayers an estimated $500,000 a year to maintain that vacant property, or more than $1 million to tear it down.

In an August 22, 2010, column in this newspaper, Courier & Press Editor Mizell Stewart III wrote of the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, spending $800,000 in tax dollars to tear down its old stadium after it sat vacant for more than six years and fell into disrepair. The Park plan offers an opportunity to avoid that scenario here.''

If we put the total derived from the Courier & Press together with the following quotes we know the following...

- Roberts Stadium is $67,250.50 under the estimate the C&P gathered to mothball Roberts Stadium each year which was called "conservative" by Dave Rector.

-Roberts Stadium is $267,250.50 under the estimate David Dunn gave us to maintain the property.

- Roberts Stadium is $67,250.50 to $267,250.50 cheaper to maintain each year than the ball fields.

Not only is Roberts Stadium cheaper than the ball fields and significantly under the estimated budget, it also...

1. Has weathered the vast majority of the winter.

2. Is still cheaper than the ball fields and under budget even when the figures have frivolous expenses turned in by the Building Authority such as $56 uniforms and $17,000 custodial expenses (what custodian are we paying to leave the graffiti on the windows and the hole in the concrete entrance?).

3. Would cost significantly less each month if the floor was raised and the water pumps were eliminated!

The real questions the C&P needs to be asking are the following...

1. Why has the graffiti on the windows, which has been there for several weeks now, been allowed to remain on the windows?

2. Why has the parking lot crack, which was like that even when Roberts Stadium was open, been allowed to be neglected for months and months now?

3. If the roof was completely reroofed in 2002, have any insurance claims been investigated?

4. If Dave Rector is embarrassed about Roberts Stadium's bathrooms, why isn't he embarrassed about leaving the graffiti on the windows and the crack in the entrance to the parking lot?

5. Why is Dave Rector, who is involved with the downtown Main Gate Sports Bar, involved with Roberts Stadium which is the economic engine for competing restaurants Kipplee's, Turoni's, and Western Rib-Eye?

While the C&P continues to let their Yellow Journalism Fever go untreated, the numbers are in and they speak loud and clear in Roberts Stadium's favor.

A mid-sized Roberts Stadium makes all the sense in the world while demolition makes no sense.

Don't fall victim to Yellow Journalism Fever, SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!