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For the more than 80% of Evansville residents who didn't vote last year, I sure hope this week has taught you that elections have consequences. We could have had a great, hard-working mayor in office who has a deep background in sports and understands the economic value of Roberts Stadium. But since our city choose to stay home, we are now living with the consequences of having a mayor who doesn't grasp the fundamental concepts of how an arena works (much less the difference between the Ford Center and Roberts Stadium) and has still neither proven nor removed a page in the task force report that his own communications director admitted was added after the final meeting...
http://city-countyobserver.com/2012/04/26/page-13-was-added-to-the-roberts-stadium-report-ella-johnson-watson-mayor-winneckes-director-of-communications/
These past few days, we're learning even more about our mayor's plan for the Roberts Stadium lot, or should I say lack of a plan. Let's dive into some quotes from this week's C&P article (paragraphs in black are from the C&P article)...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/jun/09/30pt-hed1-10-inches-p-inches-03/?partner=popular
"A number of proposals were for very limited use at certain times of the year," Winnecke said.
You mean an outdoor park which you selected? I sure hope you're not referring to Roberts Stadium which is indoors, climate controlled, and capable of hosting events year-round whether that be basketball in the fall/winter or BMX events in the spring/summer.
"The overwhelming thing we heard during the public hearings, comments that came into the mayor's office and what we heard on the street was — make it something for everybody. And that's what we've tried to do."
First of all, no you did not try to make it something for everyone (I will explain in a few paragraphs down), and secondly, that theme, as I've said 1,000 times, was the theme presented by the green space subcommittee, not the group in general. I think that speaks volumes about who you were listening to and who you weren't listening to during the meetings.
Winnecke said he feels badly that Baer is disappointed, but said he was involved in the decision process by sitting on the Task Force.
I sat on a task force for which the task director ended up selecting subcommittee leaders who took the report and then added whatever they felt like adding after our final meeting. I have no problem with the cost estimates. Mr. Bill Nix did an excellent job on them and he did them in good faith. What I do have a problem with is page 13 which inaccurately claims 3 things that never proven and were never approved by the general body of the task force.
Even worse is the fact that the mayor has yet to tell me or anyone else what mid-sized arena he visited. The mayor admitted to traveling to Louisville and Columbus who both have mid-sized arenas yet no report of a visit to any of them has ever been released. The mayor never said if he talked with Venuworks and/or SMG, the mayor never said he talked with any of the tenants who are interested in Roberts Stadium, and the mayor never said he investigated the value of selling naming rights to the gates.
What good does it do to me to sit on a task force if the mayor doesn't investigate any of the info I gave him?
"There were over 600 ideas presented," he said. "Obviously not everyone was going to be pleased with the outcome."
Wait a minute, you just told us you were building "something for everyone." Apparently, that is NOT what happened (Like I said earlier, I will explain how we could have done this in a few paragraphs).
Winnecke further explained the current park plans propose a number of amenities that the city either doesn't have or would be a significant upgrade, for example, a first-class skate park, a dog park and an area for fitness.
Outdoor Skate Park- Lamasco & Swonder
Dog Park- Kleymeyer
Area For Fitness- Mental Health State Park, Burdette, Wesselman, and just about every other park in the city (which aren't being taken care of)
I don't know about you, but it would seem to me that these would be the last three things our city needs to worry about. None of these need to be upgraded and none of them will even come close to bringing in a decent amount of revenue, much less bringing in tourists or stabilizing the businesses around Roberts Stadium. This plan has failure written all over it.
"We've talked about in our administration energizing Evansville, that is creating an awareness of the importance of fitness," Winnecke said. "We've talked about creating fitness areas for young people and adults, that is something that we don't have at this time ... So to say it's one dimensional, I don't understand that."
Finally the mayor admits he doesn't understand that his park is one-dimensional. This park is most definitely one-dimensional for the following reasons...
1. The entire lot is nothing but activities based on outdoor recreation, not to mention duplicates of activites already found elsewhere in Evansville parks.
2. The entire lot is based on activities that are aimed for only fair weather seasons. How many people are going to use these "amenities" in the winter?
3. The plan only addresses the ideas brought forward to the green space subcommittee. There is no natatorium, indoor bmx facility, or mid-sized arena events. Only the green space subcommittee had their ideas addressed.
4. The entire lot does nothing for the businesses around Roberts Stadium. Kipplee's, Western Rib-Eye, Turoni's, and many other restaurants relied on the business brought in from other counties by Roberts Stadium. With this park, this simply will not happen.
5. This plan demolishes a building that is needed to serve mid-sized tenants. Without Roberts Stadium, indoor soccer, football, minor-league basketball, trade shows like the Boat Show, mid-sized concerts, BMX shows/events, and many other events are left out in the cold. These events cannot afford the Ford Center, nor should we be filling the Ford Center's dates with these types of events over premier concerts, hockey games, and Aces games. The mayor never addressed these tenants and I am embarrassed at the way he is treating them.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the mayor's fitness videos will turn the town around, but in the mean time, we need serious plans and goals to get this city solvent, growing, and healthy.
So, how can we do something for everyone? The photo below shows how....
(click to enlarge)
Ironically enough, the mayor is planning on addressing just about all aspects of this plan in the coming months and year(s).
1. Converting the back lot only to a green space is a much more sensible way to go. There is plenty of land in the back lot for the mayor to build the things he is proposing to build as it is roughly the same size as the green space being constructed on the old airport lot. This lot, unlike the current plan, would be funded via revenue from the mid-sized tenants at Roberts Stadium and would be maintained by either SMG or Venuworks. The back lot green space would still connect Wesselman Woods with Mental State Park. Basically, there's no reason to build a green space bigger than the back lot.
2. The mayor pledged to look into constructing a new natatorium for the city after admitting that Lloyd Pool is on its last leg. I found that to be quite ironic given that the mayor used the Lloyd Pool renovation during the last election as a reason not to renovate Roberts Stadium into a natatorium, yet that plan appears to have been nothing but a band-aid. Although Roberts Stadium is healthy enough to hold a natatorium, the truth still remains that Hartke Pool is on its last leg as well. And it only makes sense to address BOTH Hartke Pool and a new natatorium together and on the same lot to save on costs.
3. The mayor claims to have visited Lamasco Park and heard from skaters that a park on the Roberts Stadium lot would be a good idea. However, just about all BMX supporters who came to the Task Force meetings wanted an indoor facility not an outdoor facility. And with Swonder looking to get rid of their indoor BMX tracks so that they can expand the west rink, the time to build a new indoor BMX track is now. Although this facility isn't compatible with Roberts Stadium and its luxury boxes, meeting rooms, and ticket offices, it is compatible with the northern lot which is bigger than the Roberts Stadium footprint and can be marketed as an "expansion of Swonder."
4. Obviously, this is the most important aspect of what we need to do on the lot- renovate Roberts Stadium- Contrary to what they want you to believe, renovating Roberts Stadium IS NOT the more expensive option. It is estimated to cost $4-4.5 million which is still cheaper than the new green space estimate. Not only is it cheaper, it also has the potential to reduce its costs via the selling of seats, naming rights to the gates, and via the selling of commemorative bricks (it seems the mayor does like these ideas). Roberts Stadium would be the economic engine of the complex as it would bring in events that are too small for the Ford Center but are still profitable and still bring in tourists by the thousands (see Portland's Memorial Coliseum). In turn, this facility is needed to maintain business around the facility.
The mayor cannot convince me that the above plan is not something for everyone while his plan is. His plan, whether he likes it or not, is indeed one-dimensional as it only satisfies Point #1 in the above plan. Not only is it one-dimensional, it only tailors to the opinions who were in the minority at our Task Force meetings. Roberts Stadium almost always beat the green space by 90-10 at each meeting.
Simply put- The mayor's plan is a plan heading straight for failure and the parks board needs to take their decision VERY SERIOUSLY!
Just today, it appears the C&P has decided to do damage control on the mayor's plan. Let's dive into a few of their quotes...
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/jun/12/sometimes-leaders-must-make-decisions-that-dont/
"Prior to reaching his decision on Wednesday on what to recommend for Roberts Stadium, Mayor Lloyd Winnecke appointed a citizens task force to consider options for the now vacant public arena. Of course, Winnecke had his own opinion before taking office in January and before appointing the task force; he wouldn't be much of a city leader if he came to the office without his own views on city operations."
I'm glad the C&P finally realizes that the mayor had his mind made up before he assembled the Task Force. In fact, back in November, he told me and 4 other citizens that he had already talked to Wesselman Woods about making it a green space. Initially he was going to make it heavy on trees because NO ONE from Wesselman Woods explained to him that you cannot mix an old-growth and new-growth forest together.
"Real leadership requires individuals with the ability to think, reason, listen and ultimately to make decisions that may or may not be popular."
Do real leaders let a page be added to the report after the final task force meeting that is completely inaccurate? I don't think so!
"It came as little surprise last week when Winnecke recommended the park option; he had said last year as a candidate that he would support demolishing the former basketball stadium if it could not be reused in an affordable fashion."
It came as little surprise because the last thing he was interested in was a mid-sized arena. He never identified a mid-sized arena he visited, he never said if he spoke with Venuworks and SMG, and he never got an estimate on the value of naming rights to the gates. Does anyone believe the mayor gave a good faith effort? I don't!
"And that was the conclusion he reached following the task force study, and yet, we read and heard comments that he did not do "what the people wanted," or that he "did not listen to the people." These are two of the most tiresome, overworked comments we hear, almost any time the community is considering an important issue.
Which "people" are they talking about? Those who supported the aquatic center or those who wanted an extreme sports facility or those who hoped for a nice park?"
I could see why the C&P is confused on who supports what. Only Greg Stilwell from the Task Force bothered to get an idea of who supported Roberts Stadium and who wanted it to be demolished. As I've said 1,000 times on here. 28 people toured Roberts Stadium and then came to the next public meeting. Of those 28, 25 said they viewed the structure in a positive light. Of the remaining 3, 2 just wanted a green space and were willing to build around it. ONLY ONE PERSON WAS AGAINST ROBERTS STADIUM!
Even worse is the fact that Mr. Dave Coker requested that each idea have a number behind it indicating the number of people who supported each idea. Of course, that idea was rejected by the same people who put the general conclusion page in the report claiming the theme was "something for everyone." This process proved very clearly that our city leaders didn't get what they wanted so they just started blatantly making up pages.
"We live in a diverse community where all of us will never agree on an issue such as this. That's why we elect leaders, who sometimes must make a decision, hopefully after weighing all available information. Heaven help us when we choose leaders who are afraid to make decisions, afraid to face up to the community's loudest critics."
Heaven help us if we had a mayor who would omit pages from task force reports that were added after the final meeting and are blatantly inaccurate. No wonder our city has a vetting problem. And heaven help us if our mayor would give a good faith effort to look into the mid-sized arena industry by making a simple phone call to Venuworks/SMG.
"As previously stated, we believe that Winnecke made the best choice among the options for the Roberts Stadium property. Keeping the stadium and converting it to just about anything would have been awfully expensive. The task force did nothing to convince us otherwise. And we don't need another public arena, given that the city has the new Downtown Ford Center, and it seems to be working out splendidly."
If spending $4-4.5 million to renovate Roberts Stadium is expensive, what do you call the current $6-8 million plan that won't even come close to the revenue Roberts Stadium would bring in?
And why does the C&P believe that Roberts and the Ford Center would compete? Weren't the reasons why the Ford Center was built were Roberts having inadequate roof support and inadequate luxury amenities? What's changed? That doesn't sound like an arena that's going to compete with the Ford Center to me, that sounds like a mid-sized arena.
And if Venuworks were the operator of Roberts Stadium and the Ford Center, how could they compete against themselves?
"Despite those who pooh-poohed the mayor's choice, it is our impression that a considerable number of people did agree with his decision, many of them are those "people" who wanted a park developed in the place of the stadium."
Yea, an amazing ONE PERSON went on the Roberts Stadium tour, viewed the facility negatively, and then bothered to come to the next meeting to push for a green space.
In fact, if the mayor's full package is adopted, those approving might grow to include skateboard enthusiasts, fitness folks, and all the dogs who would enjoy having their own dog park.
Considering the fact that we already have each and every one of those things and no talks about them, I'm pretty sure this plan isn't going to do a single thing for our city. It was just used as an excuse to tear down Roberts Stadium.
And that's the problem, the mayor doesn't understand how his plan is one-dimensional while his buddies at the C&P just keep making excuses after excuses about how this plan makes sense in an effort to do damage control. But the truth still remains that unless the Parks Board commits to doing the right thing, we are going to lose the following benefits...
- No facility for mid-sized teams (soccer, football, basketball)
- No facility for mid-sized trade shows (Boat show)
- No facility for BMX events (Dew Tour)
- No facility to designate a disaster relief area
- No area to use as a shuttle stop for the Ford Center
- No facility to use as an Indoor Greenway Trailhub
- No facility to generate revenue for nearby restaurants
- No facility to generate income to maintain the green space on the back lot
- No facility to bring in youth and high school tournaments (high school basketball)
- No facility to flex events to from the Ford Center when it fills up (already has cost the Icemen several weekend dates)
- Loss of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars invested in Roberts
Losing Roberts Stadium, would cost our city dearly, including the same facility our government claims they are protecting. And it would all be lost because we have elected a mayor who can't take his blinders off.
The mayor and the C&P should be embarrassed at the direction they are taking our city!
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