IS IT TRUE? Part 2 June 17, 2011 Roberts Stadium Shutdown News
IS IT TRUE that SMG is holding a letter from Dan Schall, Director of the City of Evansville Parks and Recreation Department advising them that on August 3, 2011 that Roberts Stadium shall be closed?…that if this order is deemed to be for real that the Bob Dylan concert on August 2, 2011 will be the last event ever for Roberts Stadium?…that this action will leave the City of Evansville without any large concert or indoor sports venue for approximately 3 months?…that this really sounds like a bad case of READY, FIRE, AIM playing itself out again?…that we have it on good authority that there are currently 4 events that have been planned and secured for Roberts Stadium that will have to be cancelled if this order is upheld?…that this action will have negative political ramifications for anyone who is even perceived as being one of the straggling members of Team Weinzapfel?…that these ramifications will fall the hardest in the 3rd Ward where Roberts Stadium is and where the strongest opposition to the ballfield fiasco resides?…that the soon to be Republican candidate for Evansville City Council will start out with a powerful political weapon to be used against the Democratic candidate who is known to be a fan of the Mayor?…that this Ready, Fire, Aim habit may just be the icing on the cake that assures that the “Keeping the Majority†initiative is futile?
IS IT TRUE that there is no record of any discussion about issuing an order to SMG to vacate and shut down Roberts Stadium in the recent meetings of the Board of Directors of the Evansville Parks Department?…that we then wonder exactly on what authority this letter was written?…that giving an order with no public meeting, no approval, and no authority to do so takes a serious amount of hubris on the part of the person who wrote the letter and or from the person who pulls his strings?…that if SMG wants to challenge this order that legal minds tell us that they will prevail unless the proper protocol has been followed to grant authority to take this action?
IS IT TRUE that yesterday was the day that the City of Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development committed to respond to the Freedom of Information Act request filed by the City County Observer regarding the contracts with Woodward Hospitality and VenuWorks?…that the City of Evansville is now in violation of the Freedom of Information Act as the CCO has received no communication as committed?…that defying federal and state law is not something to take lightly and that the CCO will proceed to investigate the process to file complaints against the City of Evansville on Monday June 20, 2011 unless all documents are made available to us by noon of that day?…that to ignore federal and state laws with regard to FOIA is the height of arrogance and spits in the face of the people of Evansville?
IS IT TRUE that we have been informed that the Parks Department has already verbally started to back off of the August 3rd shut down date for Roberts Stadium?…that shows how poor the thought process behind the letter was?…that anything that comes from the City of Evansville regarding this issue needs to be signed, dated, witnessed, and notarized to have any credibility?
Weinzapfel and his gang of cronies are at it again backroom deals and misuse of city funds and properties. All of the local polititions that are in on this need to be voted out of office. The good old boys are sounding more and more like the Evansville democratic Mafia.
Roberts stadium still has many good uses and still has value for the people of Evansville. “Save Roberts Stadium” Get rid of the crony style politics we see going on during the Weinzapfel adminastration!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Until the City’s contract with SMG expires the City must keep Roberts Stadium open or the City could be sued for breach of contract and be liable to pay significant damages (taxes to you and me) for lost revenue to SMG. Breaching the City’s contract with SMG would be even dumber than the City’s handling of the Executive Inn fiasco.
Reprehensible conduct by the City on both the untimely, unilateral closing of the Stadium as well as ignoring the FOIA requests (after earlier agreeing to provide this PUBLIC information). The case of the People v. City of Evansville looms ? The arrogance and incompetence is beyond comprehension.
This is just incomprehensible! It the Weinzapfel Administration trying to add to the suicide statistics for Evansville? Ignorance and arrogance in action. This stunt is not even sneegal.
When will be getting new faces on the Parks Dept? The current lot of crooks just isn’t cutting it.
probably not til January, there should be a lot of fresh faces around in January
You have to be intelligent to be a crook. These people are not crooks, they are idiots.
http://saverobertsstadium.blogspot.com/2011/06/why-are-they-running-scared-from.html
There are so many wonderful uses that this venerable,already paid-for, unique building could continue to serve all of Evansville. It would be silly to tear it down until we know that the new Arena actually works…if at all. Those who were upset by the effects of the $17 million dollar soft ball fields should quake at the plan to add 12 new tennis courts (6 outdoor & 6 indoor ones) in the woods themselves. Here we go again w/o any consensus, public input, or an enviromental impact study. H. Dan Adams MD
I agree completely. Thanks Doc !
Dan Adams = reason and common sense. Well said.
Thanks! for the low-down on the down-low.
You can count on my support and vote. …
I don’t understand how the Park Board can justify approving the request from the Tennis Association for these new courts without the Tennis Assoc. having a detailed plan, all the money in place and without seeming to remember the uproar and protests over the ball fields just last summer. My suggestion is that anyone who wants to express dismay at this really absurd idea of taking green space away from the people of Evansville and spending millions of dollars for some tennis courts and an misplaced build should write the City Council, the County Council and start attending Park Board and council meets immediately. Also express your views to the Convention and Visitors Bureau from which the Tennis Association plans to get money to build this project. This will be presented at the July 6 County Council meeting so we don’t have much time. PLEASE STEP UP ON THIS ONE. Please see more information in the comments section of previous articles in the CCO (1)under the reprint of the 2010 article about the ball fields issue and (2)the article concerning the tennis association proposal at the June 15 Park Board meeting. Contact your City Council representative, and your County Council representative today. To give you an idea of the idiocy of this proposal, the tennis assoc. wants to destroy green space in Wesselman Park and build what can only be described as a HUGE building when a very large building (Roberts Stadium)already exists on the other end of the park from the proposed site. But the Tennis association doesn’t want to walk that far.
I wonder when the current SMG contract expires or if one even exists?
If one exists, is an advanced notice required to terminate the contract?
As much as an August 3 closing date does not make much sense and the closing date should coincide with the opening date of the new arena, some rational must exist.
The reason for the closing date should at least been stated to prevent an appearance on unilateral skullduggery.
Why would one terminate a revenue stream before its replacement revenue was up and absolutely going without a hitch? HDA MD
Removing Roberts Stadium, an income producing property, in this financial environment is really a stupid move. I hope that the mayor is true to his statement regarding budgeting money for the next administration to handle the issue. The amount budgeted should however be for one year, not the 3 months as indicated by the JW in an article in the Courier recently. Even if whoever is elected mayor hits the ground running at warp speed, he won’t be in a position to get everything finalized and a program in place in three months.
I am very concerned with this push to shut down Roberts Stadium. I do not believe we should close and demolish the building without a hard look at how Roberts Stadium could continue to be utilized. The citizens of Evansville deserve a real analysis of whether Roberts Stadium can continue to serve the community. In my humble opinion, the fate of Roberts Stadium should be determined by the administration that takes office next January. People on their way out should not determine our future in this regard. I am equally concerned about this idea of new tennis courts in Wesselman’s Park. Once again, the Parks Department is forgeting about the environmental impact on the Nature Preserve. What additional impact will the lights and cars have? I don’t support anything being built in the park without an Environmental Impact Statement. Additionally, the City may not have to spend money to build it, but who will maintain it, and where will all of these people park? This is just a paving project. The Parks Department is just a super nova of bad behavior here lately, and I am interested to see the direction of this department under the Davis administration. Surely, we can do better.
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