Our Task Force Doesn't Need To Take A Delay Of Game

This past week was suppose to be the final week for our Roberts Stadium Task Force to submit our final findings for what to do with Roberts Stadium before Mayor Lloyd Winnecke was to make a decision on the fate of this iconic building.

But as of a few days ago, this decision has been extended all the way up to April 20th. The decision is believed to be at the request of Task Force director Larry Steenberg who cited the need to have more detail in the report. You can read the press release here...

http://city-countyobserver.com/2012/03/29/roberts-stadium-recommendation-meeting-delayed/

I respectfully disagree with this decision for the following reasons...

1. In the email we received, there was nothing specific mentioned that needed any more detail. It is unclear what specifically triggered the need for an extension as no reasons were given.

2. No one in my subcommittee has been asked to clarify any of our statements. It is completely unclear what we need to clarify in our report.

3. This decision was never voted on by the task force, it was only the decision of the director.

4. The water pumps are still running. The longer these pumps run the louder critics of Roberts Stadium will get even though these pumps should be removed anyways to scale Roberts Stadium down to a mid-sized arena.

5. Regardless of what we clarify, there will still need to be another study conducted to get specifics on the engineering and construction aspects of scaling Roberts Stadium down.

6. I believe that Mayor Winnecke has an overwhelming amount of evidence in the report to make the correct decision, which is scaling Roberts Stadium down to a 5,000 to 6,000 seat arena.

7. Any information added to this report will have been done after all public meetings were conducted and should not be allowed to enter the report without public knowledge nor should it be allowed to enter after all other information was only given three months to be obtained.

I have all the respect, trust, and confidence in Mayor Lloyd Winnecke to make this decision. I truly believe that Mayor Winnecke is the smart, bold, and courageous leader we need to make this decision. All we need to do now is to finally cut through the delays and red tape and deliver our report to Mayor Winnecke.

Although this decision will be one of the largest decisions in Evansville's history (it will undoubtedly determine which direction my career as an activist goes as well), this decision really isn't a hard one to make. It certainly isn't rocket science...

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The post below this one contains 20 solid reasons for why we SHOULD renovate Roberts Stadium as a mid-sized arena and 20 solid reasons why we SHOULDN'T demolish it in favor of a green space...

http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-end-it-was-those-who-support.html

These 20 reasons are basic, easy to understand, and speak for themselves. I hold these reasons to be self-evident that Roberts Stadium shall be scaled down to a mid-sized arena.

Although I was not chosen to lead my subcommittee, I am more than satisfied with the data that was sent to the Roberts Stadium Task Force to send on to Mayor Winnecke. The amount of data in that report is the byproduct of the research I have conducted these past 20 months while putting together the plan to reuse Roberts Stadium as a mid-sized arena. Unlike any of the other plans, all 6 ideas can win with a mid-sized arena if the city commits to creating a larger master plan for the area. This is the only way we will ever get good urban planning with this project.

On the flip side, if Mr. Steenberg feels that the green space subcommittee did not present an adequate amount of evidence to support their idea, I fully agree. I have been saying long before this committee was assembled that it makes no financial sense whatsoever to demolish Roberts Stadium, construct a park on the lot, and then pay to maintain this lot. Sure enough, no financial logic was presented in their plan.

There is no need to waste any more time trying to manufacture anything productive out of the green space committee's plan. It is nothing more than the byproduct of a short-sighted vision that came with zero emotion or financial logic. While I have spent the past 20 months chasing down lead after lead, meeting with city leader after city leader, and getting the word out about Roberts Stadium, green space subcommittee members like Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley have showed up late to meetings in basic blue jeans as if she was just there for the free Bud Light.

Our city needs to move on from this step as we still have a ways to go. Right now, our city leaders should be doing the following...

1. Conducting an official engineering study to get an official quote for raising the floor, demolishing the precast sections above street level, and fixing the roof over the concourses that were added in the 1990-91 renovation. This statement will also allow us to figure out if there are any other minor repairs needed.

2. Conducting an official business report that places a value on the sale of naming rights to the four gates, the plazas outside of Roberts Stadium, and the areas around the concourse. Our city should be reaching out to corporations as well as legends like Jerry Sloan, Larry Humes, and Scott Hafner who played at Roberts Stadium to see what kind of financial contribution they would be interested in making if their name and their legacy were put on display around Roberts Stadium.

3. Meeting with both SMG and Venuworks to work out the coordination between Roberts Stadium and the Ford Center. Our city leaders need to listen to both of these organizations to get an understanding of why Roberts Stadium and the Ford Center will not compete. They need to take the advice of both of these organizations and then let the two bid for the right to manage the facility.

4. Getting in touch with the ECVB to work out a plan to transfer the 5,000-6,000 seats that would be removed from Roberts Stadium to the ECVB's ball fields project which needs to be at Kleymeyer Park. The financial benefits for this move are tremendous for both sides. Our city needs to make sure everyone is on the right page to take advantage of this huge cost savings.

It is important to understand that neither our Roberts Stadium task force nor the subcommittee that I am on can handle any of these steps. All four of these steps are the final steps that need to be addressed by our city officials. They are simple steps but they must be performed if we are to take Roberts Stadium and the city of Evansville to the next level.

Mr. Steenberg, all three subcommittees have already turned in the information needed for Mayor Winnecke to make his decision. This information speaks for itself. Let's not waste any more time trying to change any of these facts. THE SHOT CLOCK ON THE GREEN SPACE IDEA HAS EXPIRED!

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