Let's Make Roberts Stadium Open Air

Ironically enough, we have the opportunity to modernize Roberts Stadium by once again going back to its past.

For those who don't follow sports architecture as close as I do, it is important to understand that new trends in sports architecture call for more "open air" spaces to be built in newly constructed stadiums, arenas, and ballparks. We are seeing this trend all across America whether it be an outside concourse at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia...


(lincolnfinancialfield.com)

An open air plaza inside the AT&T Center in San Antonio...


(AT&T Center's myspace)

Or an open air outfield walkway concourse inside Miller Park in Milwaukee...


(zackhample.mlblogs.com)

During discussions in my subcommittee, we were throwing out ideas on how we can make Roberts Stadium a mid-sized venue while creating space for expo events like car shows, boat shows, etc,etc. Previously, those who supported converting Roberts Stadium into an expo hall wanted to raise the floor up to ground level and remove all of the seats. However, there are many problems with this...

1. It would eliminate all mid-sized events due to the lack of seats
2. It would cut off the tunnel that connects Roberts' floor and loading docks
3. It would be more expensive to renovate than a mid-sized arena while bringing in fewer events

Although that idea will be one of the two proposals that will be given to the mayor, there is now a sentiment amongst my subcommittee that there is a better way to do this. Here is what we can do to keep Roberts Stadium as a mid-sized arena while creating more room for expo events at the same time.

1. Raise the floor above the water table. To do this we would have to go to the line where the temporary and permanent seats meet. We will also need to go 2-3 rows higher so that we create a floor that is large enough for Evansville Rage indoor football.

Before:

After:

2. This is where my description may get a little tricky to understand but I will try. All of the seats that you see that are either next to or above the entrance tunnels to each section are precast. That means that they can easily be demolished without any real harm to the building.

Basically, we are looking at making the entire concourse all the way around Roberts Stadium open air meaning that you could see the game while you are walking around the main level due to the tunnels and seats blocking your view being gone.

If you look at the picture below, in the future, everything you see on the left will be gone so that you can see the court/floor without anything obstructing your view...

From the floor, all of the above seats will be gone...

Before:

After:

There are some very important aspects of this idea to note:

1. The initial estimate from the architect who installed these precast sections in 1990-91 to remove them is $85,000.

2. Just like raising the floor, removing these sections will return Roberts Stadium back to how it looked before 1990-91. This will give the facility more of a Ralph Legeman fieldhouse look.

3. There will be plenty of room to reconstruct more concession stands and merchandise stands in the pocket corners of the arena.

4. Removing these sections will give us more room for expo events like car shows, boat shows, and home shows.

5. Removing these sections will have no effect on any other aspect of the arena such as the lower level seats, the skyboxe suites, and the underground tunnel.

6. Removing these sections will put us in the 5,000-6,000 seat capacity that we need to make Roberts Stadium a mid-sized arena.

7. We can take the seats that would be removed in these sections and give them to the ECVB for their ball fields project which belongs at Kleymeyer Park. This will save them a huge chunk of money and will give us a small amount of the Innkeepers Tax that we need to renovate Roberts Stadium.

Yes, Roberts Stadium would look drastically different if we removed these sections. Yes, fans would view Roberts Stadium in a whole new different way that what they have the past 20 years. However, I truly believe that removing these sections is the correct decision. I feel like removing these sections, as well as raising the floor above the water table, will give us a mid-sized Roberts Stadium that will last for many years to come. It will also give fans a better image of how Roberts Stadium looked back in the days of Hank Roberts and Ralph Legeman.

How are we going to save Roberts Stadium? BY MAKING IT OPEN AIR!