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Say one thing, do another. In what appears to be yet another grand tradition in Evansville politics, our local government loves luring in Evansville residents by telling them one thing and then changing their story to lure them another way.
Oddly enough, it hasn't just been one city leader, or two, or three who have used bait-and-switch on local residents. Rather, it appears to be a disease that runs rampant in the Civic Center and spreads rather quickly by taking the path of least resistance- group think.
What angers me the most about this tactic is that our city leaders appear to be heading down the right track when they initially take a stand on an issue. But they almost always trip and fall on their own path and start heading in another direction.
What are some examples of our city government saying one thing and then doing another?
What They Said Then:
Roberts Stadium Is Too Old And Inadequate For Premier Events
Although most of the facility is only 20 years old, the truth still remains that Roberts Stadium lacks the amenities needed to bring in and/or retain existing concerts and premier shows. The roof capacity at Roberts Stadium is roughly 60,000 lbs (FC has 180,000 lbs), Roberts Stadium only has 15 basic luxury boxes (FC has 21 that range in capacity from 16 to 24 people), and Roberts Stadium has no club seats (FC has 516 club seats).
I think it was pretty cut and dry that Evansville needed a new arena for the premier events. I also agreed with the decision to build downtown. Downtown Evansville is the key to our city's future. You can't be a suburb of nothing and that is what our city has been for so many years. Constructing the Ford Center downtown was an excellent display of Smart Growth.
What They Say Now:
The Ford Center & Roberts Stadium Will Compete
I have never understood why Lloyd Winnecke felt the need to put the "can't compete with the Ford Center" clause in the Task Force's requirements. Basically, he is either admitting that he doesn't feel too comfortable in the Ford Center's ability to attract premium concerts or he is admitting that he isn't too sure that Roberts Stadium was as bad as the previous administration said it was. If either one of these beliefs is indeed true, why did the city need to build the Ford Center?
How can an arena that has no club seats, basic luxury boxes, only 1/3rd roof structure support, and no downtown entertainment district around it compete with one that does? And how many mid-sized tenants that belong in Roberts Stadium such as minor league basketball, indoor soccer, arena football, etc,etc do you see scheduled at the Ford Center? And why does SMG and Venuworks both believe that the two facilities will compliment, not compete, with each other? And if one operator runs both arenas, how can they compete with themselves?
It's very simple- our city leaders convinced us that a new arena was needed because Roberts Stadium was too old to retain these events, but now they are telling us a different story by claiming that it has the potential to compete with the Ford Center. I sure hope they know how big of a fool they are making our city look in front of the arena industry.
What They Said Then:
Roberts Stadium Should Only Be Saved If It Makes Sense Financially
Once more, I am fine with this requirement. Although I have always believed that this requirement was just being used as an excuse by those who support demolition in order to make them look good and feel good about themselves, I also recognize the value of hard-earned taxpayer dollars and would not propose something that I feel would waste these valuable dollars.
In order to keep Roberts Stadium solvent, there were two things that I wanted to accomplish..
1. I wanted to make sure the facility was constructed to operate at a low expense rate.
2. I wanted the facility to attract owners/investors that would generate revenue and profit for the facility.
In order to satisfy Point #1, I realized that there needed to be a few renovations done to the arena. The first renovation needed to be the raising of the floor 4-6 feet so that the water pumps could be eliminated. This would erase the mistake made in 1990-91 and would trim off nearly 42 % of Roberts' annual expenses. The second renovation that was needed was the demolition of the precast sections above street level. This was necessary in order to make the concourse wide enough to host expo events and trade shows like Freedom Hall does in Louisville. It was also necessary to bring Roberts down to the "economy of scale" for mid-sized events. Together, both of these renovations were going to be around $485,000.
Lastly, I wanted to make sure that the roof on the newer parts of the facility was replaced completely as it just ran out of warranty a year or so ago. This fell in the $50,000-$100,000 range. To finish it off, we needed to make some minor adjustments to the bathrooms (estimate N/A).
To satisfy Point #2, I went after tenants that were not interested in the Ford Center due to cost and availability. Right off the bat, I picked up an indoor soccer team, an indoor football team, and a minor league basketball team. There were also investors interested in lacrosse, in-line skating, and mid-sized concerts. Any other dates would be filled up by the arena operator and Greg Stilwell/Alan Brille's expo events (approx 180 events).
What They Say Now
The Plan For The Roberts Stadium Lot Doesn't Have To Make Sense Financially
Unless the Parks Board makes the correct and gutsy call to reject the mayor's recommendation, we are currently staring at a plan that consists of three things that bring in next to no revenue... 1. a lake 2. an outdoor skate park 3. a dog park
Not only do these 3 amenities fail to bring in hardly any revenue, they also cost more than the amount needed to renovate Roberts Stadium (Park is $6=8 mil, Roberts was $4-4.5 mil) which would bring in a significant amount of revenue.
It was estimated that maintaining a park on the lot would range from $10,000 to $32,000. With the water pumps gone, the vast majority of the $200,000 maintenance on Roberts Stadium would be gone as well. But even if they were left intact, it would still take almost 10 to 20 years for the Roberts Stadium renovation to equal the green space plan.
As usual, our local residents were drawn in to the idea that Roberts Stadium could only be kept if it made sense financially. But as soon as our city leaders saw that it did, they quickly changed course to a project that makes no financial sense whatsoever.
What They Said Then
The Ball Fields Project Is Necessary To Maintain Economic Development On The East Side
Without a doubt, our local residents were told that the main reason that our city needed to spend $17.5 million on a ball field plan was because of all the economic development that it would attract. We were told that these fields would bring in traveling teams who would stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and spend money at other local retail outlets on the east side.
Although I was completely against the idea of replacing Roberts Stadium with the ball fields, I did agree that a ball field complex was needed. And without a doubt, this complex needed to be located at Kleymeyer Park. If built there, the fields would bring economic development to the North Main Street area which would connect Bosse Field with the Ford Center.
If our city leaders would have been willing to have considered other sites, they would have been on the right track.
What They Say Now
Economic Development Is Not The Most Important Thing At The Roberts Stadium Lot
How many people do you think an outdoor skate park, a dog park, and a lake will bring in from out of town? The answer to that question is simple- next to none. You see, we already have multiple lakes, multiple skate parks, and a dog park. Yet, none of these "amenities" are responsible for bringing in hardly any tourists and they certainly aren't used as economic development drivers.
With a mid-sized Roberts Stadium, we would have maintained the goals of the ball fields project. High school basketball tournaments, college basketball tournaments, mid-sized concerts, and fans of Evansville's home teams would have brought fans from all around the Tri-State as well as other parts of the country. Most importantly, none of these events are scheduled for the Ford Center yet all of them would have brought visitors into town to see our brand new arena
Once more, we were told that economic development is important for the site, but now, our city has tossed this idea while hurting the arena that our city leaders are claiming to protect. Now, it's onto the idea of physical fitness (even though Mental State Park is right next door).
What They Said Then
Roberts Stadium Would Need $39 million to $90 Million Renovate
Ah, who could forget this half truth? Just about every city official in charge of Roberts Stadium during the ball fields debate was claiming outrageous costs to renovate the facility. This is just one of the many quotes about Roberts Stadium costing an enormous amount of money to renovate...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/apr/09/evansville-mayor-likes-roberts-stadium-proposal/
"One alternative bandied about called for building a water park inside the stadium. But no one has come forward with a way to pay for that project, Weinzapfel said.
He speculated that private developers may be shying away from Roberts Stadium for the same reason city officials decided against trying to renovate it. A consulting firm hired to study the 54-year-old venue concluded it would cost as much as $91.9 million to make improvements meant to curtail the threat of flooding there and strengthen the roof so it could support more weight."
$91.9 million to renovate Roberts Stadium?... Only if you're converting it into a premier arena. I talked about this half truth running rampant in an earlier post...
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2010/11/rumors-of-roberts-stadiums-demise-has.html
There's one big problem with this estimate- It's not for a mid-sized arena. To convert Roberts Stadium into a mid-sized arena, which does not require more luxury boxes, roof support, or any other amenity, our Task Force priced it between $4-4.5 million, a far cry from the $39-$90 million figure different government agencies were pricing it at.
What They Say Now
NOTHING!!!
Once the Task Force report came out with an estimate for a mid-sized arena not a premium arena, we haven't heard a peep about these enormous costs to renovate Roberts Stadium from any government official. Yes, one of our Task Force leader(s) did try to sneak a Page 13 in the report claiming that it was cheaper to build a new arena than to renovate Roberts Stadium, but this page was neither proven nor removed. It appears that city hall has all but abandoned the notion that Roberts Stadium would fall in their original price range to renovate. All we hear now is that Roberts Stadium "would cost an awful lot to renovate," even though it is still cheaper than the green space plan.
I'm still trying to figure out which line is easier to sell- Roberts Stadium will cost $39-90 million to renovate or it's cheaper just to build a new arena for $4-4.5 million.
What They Said Then
Roberts Stadium Is Not Historic
This ruling came from our local preservationist...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/oct/01/preservation-officer-roberts-no-longer-historical/
Although I do believe that Roberts would be kept off of the NRHP list simply because the same thing happened to Soldier Field, I'm also not sold on the idea that what we have is completely different than what we started with.
But one thing I do know, most of the important guts of the stadium (arena) are only 21/22 years old as they were put in during the 1990-91 renovation.
What They Say Now
Roberts Stadium Is Too Old
Yep, now we have to demolish Roberts Stadium because it's too old even though the vast majority of the facility is only 20 years old. Forget about using this facility as a mid-sized arena, we've got cracks in the concrete that even your pinkie finger couldn't fit in.
In Atlanta, the Falcons are wanting to demolish the Georgia Dome which opened in 1992. Like Evansville's plan, the plan in Atlanta has been labeled "insane" and is extremely unpopular....
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/04/25/falcons-can-have-new-building-as-long-as-they-pay-for-it/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
"The building isn’t crumbling. Our priorities are."
Doesn't that sum up Evansville perfectly?
The above examples are really just the tip of the iceberg for the amount of things that our city residents have been led to believe about the Roberts Stadium debate only to be led in another direction when our city leaders decided to argue something different.
One day our government is telling our residents that Roberts Stadium must make financial sense, that we must create economic development on the site, and that Roberts Stadium is not historic because it's been renovated in the 90s, and it would cost over $90 million to renovate.
Then, when our city government has lured local residents into believing that Roberts Stadium is a lost cause, they change the rules. Now, it's ok for a plan to not bring in tourists and economic revenue, it's ok to build a plan on the lot that costs $6-8 million and doesn't even come close to bringing in any revenue to offset its costs, and it's ok to demolish Roberts Stadium because the facility is indeed very old as the facility looks like an arena from 1956. There is no need to worry about how much it will cost to renovate Roberts Stadium, our residents just need to know that the facility "would compete with the Ford Center," "leaks water" and/or "drains taxpayer dollars."
No matter what our local officials try to tell you, the truth still remains...
- Roberts Stadium is cheaper to renovate than the green space plan.
- Roberts Stadium brings in more revenue and tourists than the green space plan.
- The vast majority of Roberts Stadium's core functions are only 20 years old.
- Renovating Roberts Stadium into a mid-sized arena is roughly $4-4.5 million.
- Roberts Stadium would remain solvent off of mid-sized events.
Yes, we are getting mixed messages because different officials have different views on the situation. But at the same time, we are also getting one message that speaks loud and clear- We are against Roberts Stadium no matter what side of the argument we have to be on.
I urge the Parks Board to give strong consideration to converting Roberts Stadium into a mid-sized arena!
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