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| minorleagueballpaks.com |
"The infrastructure that's been developed in this community is excellent. The problem is, we're the only ones that know. My job is going to be to get out there and promote this destination as a world-class destination."
Those were the words of ECVB Executive Director Bob Warren spoken at one of his first conferences in Evansville on June 2, 2011...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jun/03/no-headline---03a0xecvb/
Fast forward to March 2012 and we've already gotten away from this goal. Many local residents, much less tourists and visitors, are familiar with the assets we have in Bosse Field and Roberts Stadium. We've already talked about the history of Roberts Stadium which was built by architect Ralph Legeman who holds the patent for the fieldhouse design that has made Indiana High School Basketball the best in all of the land.
But did you know?...
- Bosse Field will turn 100 in 3 years
- Bosse Field is the third oldest active ballpark behind Wrigley Field and Fenway Park (Rickwood Field is the oldest ballpark but lacks a permanent tenant)
- Bosse Field was the site of the film, "A League of Their Own"
- Bosse Field is the first municipally owned athletic facility in Indiana
- Bosse Field has hosted many MLB greats such as Warren Spahn, Hank Greenberg, and Kirk Gibson
Couple all of Bosse Field's history with Don Mattingly's youth baseball field in Garvin Park and you've got an excellent asset to market to tourists and visitors coming to Evansville. These tourists and visitors would also be right down Main Street from the Ford Center and I our soon to be built hotel. Isn't promotion of the Ford Center a key goal of our city?
I don't think there is a single person in this city, or county, that is glad that our government has taken so long to decide the future of Roberts Stadium. If we would have made plans to scale Roberts Stadium down to a mid-sized arena back when we knew the Ford Center was going to be constructed, we wouldn't be sitting here with a closed venue that has water pumps running 24/7.
But instead, we went off course when our city leaders quietly let the previous ECVB and David Dunn work on constructing ball fields on the lot instead of renovating Roberts Stadium. Mayor Weinzapfel couldn't have cared any less about Roberts Stadium and in the end, it is now costing us dearly.
Just like Roberts Stadium, Bosse Field's future is very quietly creeping up on us. The Otters are in the red...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jul/02/more-than-a-night-at-the-ballpark/
The worst part about the Otters being in the red is that we can very easily do something about it yet we haven't.
- Have we revitalized the area around Bosse Field? No
- Have we made Bosse Field, Garvin Park, and Kleymeyer Park a priority? No
- Have we aggressively promoted Bosse Field? No
A few weeks ago, our ECVB did a wonderful job landing the 2012 GLVC Baseball Tournament which will be played at Bosse Field. The estimated economic impact is $800,000. While this is certainly a great start, we cannot stop there.
Given that Bosse Field is widely recognized as a baseball icon, why are we trying to build our ball fields project next to Wesselman Woods or out in the county? How can our city leaders look us in the face and tell us that there is no money to make Bosse Field the crown jewel of our region when they are wasting millions after millions on other projects that could help the area around Bosse Field instead?
Sooner or later, the downtown ballpark plan will come back (and rightfully so). At that time, our city leaders will wonder why we didn't plan Bosse Field's future. They will struggle and argue back and forth about what to do with it. They will wish that they had set the ground work for Bosse Field's future today.
So, what can we do to stabilize Bosse Field and the Otters?
1. Construct the ball fields at Kleymeyer Park- This will bring in an average of 40,000 out of town guests to this district. With foot traffic like this, we will now have the upper hand to work with private developers on building restaurants, shops, and other retail activities around the area. The revenue from these tourists is vital to rebuilding this district.
2. Design the ball fields to replicate vintage MLB ballparks.- Keep in mind, these ball fields are not going to be anything elaborate in terms of luxury boxes, upper level seats, and huge concourses like the real MLB ballparks. Rather, we would be putting up "faux" walls to make the fields look like various MLB ballparks, most notably Yankee Stadium where Don Mattingly played...
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| bigleaguedreams.com |
The next reason is that it ties the ball fields project in with Bosse Field and Garvin Park. In Garvin Park, we have Don Mattingly's youth baseball field. Constructing a replica of Yankee Stadium reinforces the Mattingly image into our ball fields project. Also, the vintage MLB ballpark designs reinforces the image of Bosse Field as the third oldest active ballpark. From there, we will need to clean up and redesign the area around Kleymeyer and Garvin Parks.
3. Host the championship games at Bosse Field- After the tournaments have dwindled down to two teams due to the elimination of other teams at ball fields that replicate Tiger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, The Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, Crosley Field, and Sportman's Park, the final game of the tournament would be played at Bosse Field. This would be a huge marketing tool to girl's softball tournaments due to Bosse Field's history with the film "A League of Their Own."
The main reason why this decision must be made is because of the extra financial support it will give the Otters. The Otters play 48 home games a year. That leaves 42 open dates in the three summer months alone where they aren't generating any revenue off of Bosse Field. With these championship games, the Otters will be able to increase their ad revenue, increase their revenue from concession stand sales, and increase their ticket sales because the teams will be in town on days when there are Otters home games.
What are some other benefits to building at Kleymeyer?
1. We will be promoting the Ford Center and our soon to be built downtown hotel. Both of these attractions would be right down Main Street from our complex. In fact, city hall moved the Main Street archway to Garvin Park from the Ford Center because they want to establish a connection between the two sides of Main Street. We have been told over and over by our city officials that they want to promote the Ford Center and our soon to be built hotel. NOW is their opportunity to do just that.
2. We can land swap a few organizations. Ideally, EYFL should move their football games to the old North HS field because their current field is in a flood plain while North's is not and as a result is in a much better condition. We can also work with Bob Walther to move his driving range to Hamilton Golf Course. Although this isn't necessary, it would benefit both parties as we would be able to build our ball fields next to his Golf-N-Fun which would become an instant cash cow and would be in a prime spot to expand operations to include go-karts, bumper boats, and other miscellaneous entertainment events.
3. We will be stabilizing a district that desperately needs it. When is the last time our city took on a major capital improvement project on the north side? The last one I remember is Bosse Field which is 97 years old! Let's change that. The north side of town around Bosse Field desperately needs an economic shot in the arm. If they don't get it this time, when will they get it? The time to act is NOW!
4. We will still be two roads away from the east side. Like the Roberts Stadium lot, Kleymeyer Park is one road (Main St. or First Ave) and the Lloyd Expressway from being on the east side.
5. We can use the methane gas for electricity. Our city talks about how they want to be "green." Yet as they say this, methane gas is escaping Kleymeyer Park and going into our ozone. We can prevent this and we can make it financially beneficial to our ball fields project. Like so many ball field/ landfill projects across the country, the EPA can set up methane pumps that will convert this gas to electricity. Therefore, this NON TOXIC gas would be paying huge dividends to us by lowering our electric bill at the ball fields. This is a no-brainer!
How Can Roberts Stadium Help?
Roberts Stadium can help in two ways...
1. Directly- We can take the 5,000-6,000 seats that would be removed to scale the arena down to a mid-sized arena and install them in our ball fields project. If you will remember, in 1991 we took the old bleachers out of Roberts Stadium and put them in Mesker Amphitheatre. At other ball fields across the country, you have to sit on bleachers or the ground. With our ball fields, you can sit in seats that were taken directly from Roberts Stadium. This saves the ECVB money while making their guests happy. I don't think there's any question that this needs to be done.
2. Indirectly- Contrary to what some people think, it is beneficial to have multiple venues in your town. As each event brings in out of town guests, these guests want to do something around town when they are not at their event. If Evansville remains a one horse town, we will not be very attractive to tournaments. If we use the Ford Center and Roberts Stadium as attractions for guests to enjoy on non-game days, then we will move ahead of other cities as we bid. That is why Bosse Field needs to be involved in our ball fields project.
Like I said, sooner or later, the downtown ballpark plan will come back. At that time, our city is going to wonder why they didn't do something. They are going to wish that they had taken the steps to stabilize the Otters, stabilize Bosse Field, and stabilize the district around it. If we take the proper steps today with our ball fields project, a new downtown ballpark will have little to no effect on the Otters or Bosse Field.
Mr. Bob Warren is right, we can become a world-class destination if we market our current and existing assets. That has to start with Bosse Field and Roberts Stadium!
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