By: Martha Crosley
My thanks to city council members Dan McGinn and Dan Adams for co-sponsoring a resolution which essentially states that everyone needs to put on the brakes regarding Roberts stadium and the CVB baseball fields.
This stand by some members of the city council opens up the possibility of a win-win for the CVB and the citizens of Evansville.
Those who want to have the new ball fields that the CVB is proposing are welcome to have them using land that is adjacent to Goebal Soccer Fields. It is still available for sale and the last figure I heard for the property was $1.2 million, a lesser figure than the one for razing of Roberts stadium.
Those who want Wesselman Park to remain the peaceful family park it now is and those neighbors who value a quiet home life may have that also.
This concept leaves the Roberts issue open for lots of possibilities. For example, Dr. Dan Adams of the City Council stated that Roberts could be used for a natatorium for swim meets for all the schools since high schools in the area need such a facility. This would be something that Mr. Bertram could back for his whole school system and not just one school, eg. a ball field for Bosse.
This and many other ideas are possibilities if Roberts remains standing and if a new engineering study is done, not to find out if high rigging concerts can be performed there as was done before, but to judge the building on structural soundness for other uses. For any future use a large portion of the back parking lot should be removed and planted with native trees to buffer the preserve. The floor should also be filled in to the level that would negate the constant pumping of water.
If Roberts is judged not sound and needs to be razed, then planting native plants to mesh with the park and preserve extending the park for everyone, not a special group, is the logical answer.
Mayor Weinzapfel has stated that he does not want a strip mall or the like there and it is safe to say that no one else does either. He also stated that the city has the money to raze the stadium, which will be a minimum of $1.5 million and probably more, especially with parking lot removal.
If we have this money available, then we have many options that can be placed on the table and not just to support the ball complex. Where was the information on this money before? Why was it held back only to be revealed when the mayor’s game plan was faltering? There is plenty of documentation available to show that the Mayor was engineering this ball complex from the start.
Also where was the city council on this? I have spoken with several members who were not wild about the ball fields being placed in Wesselman Park, although they could see them elsewhere for less money.
Please remember that Wesselman and Roberts are owned by the city and as such belong to you and me. I am not opposed to the ball fields. Just don’t put them in Wesselman. Let’s mate them with Goebel and develop a large, well managed sports area with room to grow and add to. What a wonderful opportunity to bring visitors to our city and to keep one of the most valuable assets of our city, Wesselman Park and Preserve, from being crowded in with more development.
We can all win with good planning and honest, open dialogue.
