IS IT TRUE? August 16, 2011 Special Evening Edition

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IS IT TRUE? August 16, 2011 Special Evening Edition

IS IT TRUE that the Civic Center is reportedly being evacuated because of a gas leak at the construction site of the new Arena?…that we wonder of the evacuation also includes the Centre, the Central Library, Signature School, the Victory Theatre, and the businesses that are within a block of the Arena to the west?…that a couple of weeks ago the evacuations were ordered over a broken water main and now it is a gas leak?…that every hiccup like this in the final stages of the construction project for the Arena is moving that grand opening day further into the future?

IS IT TRUE that the UE basketball games with Butler and IU which will be sellouts are only 3 months from now?…that these games would have sold out Roberts Stadium too?…that with Roberts Stadium being prematurely mothballed that the option of having these games in Roberts will not exist?…that mothballing Roberts Stadium prior to the opening of the new Arena and a moderate period of time to work the bugs out of its operation may just take the prize for the decision with the most unnecessary risk in the history of Evansville?…that if the Arena is late to open for any reason whatsoever and the Butler and/or IU games have to be moved?…that the decision to mothball Roberts before the Arena is opened will go down in history as one of the stupidest logistical decisions in the history of the City of Evansville?…that we wonder which high school gym that these major games will be relocated to if the Arena is not ready?

IS IT TRUE that we hope we do not have to hear the voice of the Aces saying “coming to you live tonight from the _____ High School gymnasium, is a game between the Evansville Purple Aces and the defending NCAA runner-up Butler Bulldogs”?…that such a farce would be the exclamation point on a project that has set new records for what happens when there is no planning at all?…that if this happens it will actually be as a result of one of the only things that has been planned and that is the sabotage of Roberts Stadium?

IS IT TRUE that sure to from that today’s meeting of the Evansville Redevelopment Commission did indeed hide behind the “other business” line item to bring Hunden Strategic Partners in for a presentation on the vetting process?…that this is a very important topic of local interest and should always have its own line item on the agenda?…that Chris Verville of Prime Lodging LLC tells us that he called ahead to see if there would be any vetting issues discussed and was told NO?…that this is just plain SNEGAL (sneaky but legal)?…that thanks to Mole #77 the City County Observer was tipped off that the presentation would be included?

IS IT TRUE that Mr. Hunden’s presentation regarding the vetting process did not include any mention of vetting the designs proposed for reality when it comes to construction budgets?…that some would ask why this is important?…that the reason is so that the pictures and verbal descriptions in the proposals are consistent with what can be built for $33 Million?…that we are aware of other vetting companies that believe that a sanity test on the designs and the construction budget is one of the most important indicators of a projects success?…that we have it on good authority that the vetting process does not include this critical evaluation exercise?

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10 COMMENTS

  1. 1) Not to worry, it was NOT A GAS LEAK after all–just a lot of hot air coming from the Arena that was mistaken for gas; and

    2) RE: the vetting aspect: how can the examiner not do at least a take off of the plans and come up with some order-of-magnitude estimate of what it will take to build ? If these two firms both think it’s $ 33 Million, and the real cost is really more like $47 Million, that’s a $ 14 Million surprise that I doubt either of them could withstand ! Seems like the bankers would be keenly interested in someone confirming the estimates they’ve been given. Let’s face it: there will not be subordinated lenders coming in to clean up the mess with additional loans to finish if there is a big variance in the actual over budget (UNLESS: it is the lender of last resort: taxpayers of EVV, as funneled through City Hall).

    • Too bad it wasn’t a huge primordal natural gas pocket accompanied by a bubbling tar pit ala La Brea so the new Arena would include an extensive fossil museum to draw crowds in between the sold out hockey game, revival meeting, and country music concert events.

      • LOL….that’s too good and would go fittingly with the artisan water source under Roberts stadium and the 24/7 pumping, hey! but a tar pit could put the city in the roofing business or at least give them a leg-up on the costs to pave streets. 😉

  3. Have either Mr. Davis or Mr. Winnecke announced whether they will clean house with the current ERC Director and appointed Members that blindly follow orders from current Mayor and got us into this fiasco? What about Mr. Kish? HELLO!? Are Mr. Davis and Mr. Winnecke anywhere near internet access?? This is almost as important to the City as the Mayoral candidates bravely agreeing that meth is bad and bike trails are good.

  4. Is it true that the naming rights for the new arena will be announced at 1:00 pm tomorrow?

    Is it true that besides UE basketball and Icemen hockey, several opening concerts are are to be announced soon?

    • We are getting so many leads with guesses on the name of the arena that it is impossible to cut through the clutter. Someone even offered to tell us the name for a price. We declined. Now the concerts are an easy thing to guess. They have to happen. It is only a matter of time.

  6. A water leak followed by a natural gas leak? What comes next, a sewer explosion and an effluent leak? I suppose the real question will then be: Will anyone notice, given that the arena is across the street from the City-County Building? Now there’s a facility that is already full of s**t!

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