Rarely do you ever get the chance to go back in time. No, I'm not talking about physically going back in time, rather, I am talking about getting a second chance, or a mulligan, at fixing a problem that occurred many years ago.
The year was 1994. Bill Clinton, who was midway through his first term, was battling the Republicans over health care (sound familiar?), Kurt Cobain, songwriter and frontman for the band Nirvana, was found dead at his Lake Washington home, apparently of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, and Major League Baseball went on a strike that would eventually cancel the 1994-1995 season entirely.
One thing that has been lost in the year 1994 with the locals was the current situation we had with our college basketball teams. Very few, if any, residents realize that we had a golden opportunity to promote one of our up and coming college basketball teams- the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. How could we have done this and why did we fail at it?
You see, the USI Screaming Eagles wanted to play at our beloved sports icon Roberts Stadium....
http://local.evpl.org/views/viewimage.asp?ID=924908
As you read through the article you will see what stopped them- they couldn't afford to pay the rent at the time. Among many other things, having to scrunch the Eagles in with the Aces, too many seats, and lack of marketability were all reasons that USI and Roberts Stadium didn't come to an agreement at the time.
As we flash forward 18 years later, let's take a look at what has changed and what hasn't...
What Hasn't Changed?
- USI still plays at PAC Arena which only seats 3300 seats at best and is used mainly as a practice facility. PAC Arena still has no luxury boxes or retail amenities around it.
- USI is still in the Division II GLVC but is looking to slowly and gradually improve their program.
- USI is still winning games and is ranked in the top 5/10 consistently.
- USI still has no plans to build a new arena although support for USI's basketball programs is growing rapidly.
What Has Changed?
- Roberts Stadium has now been vacated by the Aces and all other tenants which frees up the facility for USI men's and women's basketball teams to be anchor tenants. This also allows for USI to rebrand the facility in their image.
- USI's soccer team plays their homes game next door. As you come into Roberts Stadium from Division Street, you will see a huge USI banner.
- Northern Kentucky University is planning on leaving the GLVC for Division I while Kentucky Wesleyan College is leaving the GLVC for an Ohio based conference and will eventually have a new arena in Downtown Owensboro. USI's other two division rivals Indianapolis and Bellarmine have been grumbling about making the move to Division I. This leaves USI with a bigger travelling budget.
- Roberts Stadium has the potential to have its floor raised with a new mid-sized arena operator. This would make the rent affordable for USI. It would also allow USI to play in front of sold out or packed crowds.
- USI released a master plan in 2006 that calls for building new educational facilities next to PAC Arena. Eventually, this will make parking a little bit harder on game days.
- USI's student body is growing. As a result, students come from all over the Evansville region including the Roberts Stadium area.
Given all of this, the time to act is NOW. No, USI will probably not be ready to make the leap to Division I athletics in the next few years, but the ground work for this gigantic step must be laid now. To rehash what's been said in previous posts, why is USI and Roberts Stadium a perfect match?
1. Roberts Stadium comes with 15 corporate luxury boxes. In a 2009 article in the Evansville Courier & Press, USI talked about corporate revenue being their biggest need. These luxury boxes would fill that void.
2. Roberts Stadium comes with zero debt. USI will never be able to move into an arena the size of Roberts Stadium without taking on a substantial amount of debt. Moving into Roberts Stadium would be an instant cash boost to USI's athletic department while freeing up funds that would normally be spent on building a new arena for other sports that need to be Division I caliber.
3. Roberts Stadium has more marketing opportunities than PAC. Although Roberts Stadium is seen as an east side facility, it isn't too far from US 41 and is visible from the LLoyd Expressway versus PAC Arena which cannot be seen by most Evansville motorists. Also, Roberts Stadium has much more room for concession stand sales, mobile retail sales, and ticket sales.
4. Roberts Stadium isn't too far from Turoni's Forget-Me-Not Inn who is a huge sponsor of USI Basketball. In fact, USI's radio show is broadcast from their Main Street location. When I was a season ticket holder back in the 1990's, I sat next to the family who owns Turoni's. They are the best USI fans around. Not only would USI games at Roberts Stadium improve the brand awareness of sponsors like Turoni's, it would also give them better perks from the team such as a luxury box, a court side seat, and/or a VIP section.
5. 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 and is looking to eventually fill the 10,000 + seat Ford Center every night.
6. USI's support base will grow. Like the C&P article stated, 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?
Like Roberts Stadium, I care deeply about USI Basketball. I also care deeply about improving our city without having to drive it into debt. There is no reason to build USI a new arena on campus or move them into the crowded and filled Ford Center when Roberts Stadium is sitting vacant just waiting for a team like USI to move in.
Rarely, if ever, do we get a chance to correct a mistake we have made many years over. Indeed, Evansville has made a lot of mistakes over the years for which we paying for them now. This will be the one and only chance we have to make up for the mistake we made in 1994 by not helping USI like we have UE.
Unlike 1994, we will have the open dates, the affordable rent, and the opportunity to convert Roberts Stadium into a facility that markets USI as the anchor and main tenant. Let's not make the same mistake twice, let's move USI in and SAVE ROBERTS STADIUM!
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