IS IT TRUE that one can now purchase Credit Default Swaps on the debt of the Government of the United States of America?…that the volume of trades in the CDS’s has grown by a factor of 10 (900%) since 2008?…that the very idea that there is basically a financial instrument (casino bet) available to gamble on the failure of the economic system of the United States is sickening?…that if such a thing is available for certain cities or states in America that there may be some money to be made betting on something like the failure of Detroit?…that is sickening too?

IS IT TRUE “CCO Mole #3” just told us that 2nd Ward City Councilwoman Missy Mosby and 6th Ward City Councilman candidate Al Lindsey have discussed the political and personal issues between themselves?…both individuals went away from this meeting with a great deal of respect between each other?…that you can expect Missy Mosby and Al Lindsey only be saying positive things about each other during rest of the campaign?…that thanks are in order to 4th Ward City Councilwoman Connie Robinson and 5th Ward City Councilman John Friend for brokering this meeting between Missy and Al?

IS IT TRUE we would like to thank Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams for creating a “NO BARS ON MEDICAL CARE” facility on site?…that this is another example of why Sheriff Williams not only enjoys great popularity locally and state wide because he thinks outside the box?

IS IT TRUE we would like to congratulate the membership of the Memorial Community Development Corp. for cleaning up their neighborhoods and starting a “Gardening Program” aimed at feeding the less fortunate in the Center City area? .. we would like to take our hats off to Program Director Serita Cabel and Rev. Adrian Brooks for creating these worthwhile community program? …that we also take our hats off to DMD Director, Tom Barnett for making community funds available to start these worthwhile community based programs?

IS IT TRUE that we are extremely pleased with the hard work that Greg Wathen, President of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana and Mayor Weinzapfel who did the convincing of the powers that be at our Number #1 Corporate Citizen, Berry Plastics to add an additional 120 jobs here in Evansville?

IS IT TRUE that we take our hats off to Jim Garrard , Interim Director of the Evansville Water and Sewer and Mayor Weinzafpel did in convincing the Federal Judge to set a 20 year time frame to fix our expensive sewer problems?…that just because we have 20 years to do this repair does not mean that we have to take the whole time period to do so?…that our sewer problems are repellant to people and an uncertainty to the cost of doing business?…that biting the bullet and fixing the sewers no matter what it cost will establish Evansville as a leader and send a message to the world that Evansville is not going to die a slow death like much of the Rust Belt?

City County Observer Reader Comments that Pack a Punch

Take That: June 24, 2011

IN RESPONSE TO: E. Lon Walters Job Creation Plan

“Lon I can promise you that Vectren isn’t lowering their rates… another problem I see will be the Evansville water and sewer rates. With all the EPA mandated work, especially in the 2nd ward, I’d expect them to triple in the next 10 years. It would be a better idea to bulldoze everything south of Covert Ave and west of Greenriver so we could just abandon the sewers in that area.” Henry

“NOW THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO READ! Thank you for taking the time to express your “THOUGHTS, IDEAS OR WISHES We need people in office that or self employed and have employee’s.” andymic

“The American dream is still alive, just badly wounded at this time.” E. Lon Walters

“Small businesses are going out of business or moving to other countries because they are over-taxed, too many government restrictions, and burdened down with too many WASTEFUL government regulations. Small businesses make up the majority of the private sector labor force. WE need good Conservatives like you to be in office who have great ideas for Evansville, For example the plan you would like to initiate the “Evansville Growth Capital Corporation”. A great idea which i whole heartedly support, and you as well.” David Dickerson

“You say you want “cheerleaders” that can think out of the box? When’s the last time you saw a cheerleader that actually did any thinking, Lon? Don’t cheerleaders by definition, learn by watching – and repeat?” Eville Taxpayer

IN RESPONSE TO: SHOW US THE MONEY

“Evansville needs its’ own local version of the show “Shark Tank. We can call it “Carp Tank” Bowhunter72

“Hilarious!! Carp tank, where the people of Evansville go to eat. We could have Gar Tank, Cottonmouth Tank, Turd Tank, and a whole bunch of other delicate things that swim or float.” TheDonald

“Hell, at FDP, with the money it sounds like they are blowing… They might as well be shingling the roofs with laminated $100 bills!” Eville Taxpayer

IN RESPONSE TO: Shutting Down Roberts Stadium on August 3rd

“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.” Rk812

“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.” Joe Biden

“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

“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.“ Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley

“You have to be intelligent to be a crook. These people are not crooks, they are idiots.” TheDonald

“When people complain, the city fathers point to things such as South Bend’s recent designation as an “All American City,” a designation bestowed by judges who haven’t visited.”

Excerpts from the Article:

“the mayor huffed and puffed about the criteria and complained that the magazine relied on preliminary census estimates for its conclusion. When the actual census figures came out a few weeks later, it turned out that the population drop was even more severe than the estimates.”

“It (South Bend) is, however, an excellent case study. Especially when its dismal performance is set against the economic recovery that Gov. Mitch Daniels’s reforms have brought to the rest of the state.”

“Though it’s popular here to blame all its woes on the loss of manufacturing giants such as Studebaker and Bendix, the truth is that the city’s predicament owes more to the bad decisions taken over the years by its political class. After all, Studebaker shut its doors in 1963.”

” Today that same mayor says he has $9.1 million in extra revenue he wants to spend on another round of capital projects. Even the South Bend Tribune found this too much, pleading in an editorial, “Taxpayers, speak up!”

“It’s considered bad form to notice, but one problem might be that South Bend, like at least one of its companions on the dying cities list, Detroit, hasn’t had a Republican mayor for four decades. Yes, there are badly run Republican cities, and well-run Democratic ones. South Bend, however, is a classic Democratic city, with a classic Democratic approach to business. And it shows.”

Link to Complete Article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070104576397932583561752.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

IS IT TRUE? PART 2 June 23, 2011

IS IT TRUE that for those of you who are curious about things like public access laws and the Freedom of Information Act that there will be a FREE SEMINAR in Evansville next week?…that this seminar titled “Essentials and Updates of Indiana’s Public Access Laws” will be held on Wednesday June 29, 2011 at the Vanderburgh Central Library at 200 SE Martin Luther King Blvd.?…that you may register for this free event at the following website?

www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2471.htm.

IS IT TRUE that Greg Wathen, the CEO of the Southwest Indiana Coalition for Economic Development has been on a roll this week?…that yesterday’s announcement that Berry Plastics will be adding 120 jobs over the next 3 years will be followed today with another major announcement for the North Warrick Industrial Park?…that today’s announcement may just involve some good paying opportunities for some skilled local talent?…that when Warrick County gets a project that the entire region wins and that the same is true for Vanderburgh County?…that is why Wathen markets the region to the investment opportunities of the world?

IS IT TRUE that last week’s W. C. Handy Blues Festival in Henderson is not the only major music festival that is being held this summer on the south side of the Ohio River?…that tonight starts the live entertainment portion of the ROMP 2011 Bluegrass Music Festival in Owensboro’s Yellow Creek Park?…that the headline act tonight is a band called Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers?…that this is not the Steve Martin who sells commercial real estate in Evansville?…that this is the funny man from Saturday Night Live who was one “wild and crazy guy” before he went on to make movies and now BLUEGRASS MUSIC?…that this festival will go on for three nights culminating with the lady from Birmingham Emmylou Harris on Saturday night?…that tickets are available at the gate and that details are available online at the following link:

http://www.bluegrass-museum.org/general/romp.php

IS IT TRUE that the following song mixes Bluegrass music and humor and is classic Steve Martin? ENJOY

IS IT TRUE that if you liked the wild and crazy guys that this will make you smile.

IS IT TRUE that while at the DMD on Tuesday collecting all of the materials that the CCO obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that the long arm of traffic enforcement reached into the pocket of Mole #2 by putting a parking ticket on his vehicle?…that the cost of our 1 hour and 3 minute adventure was $7.70 for copying and $15.00 for the ticket that had could only have happened during the last 3 minutes or about the time we were walking from the 3rd floor back to the vehicle?…that we knew the ticket was there because Mole #3 saw it happen from a window inside the Civic Center and called Mole #2 to let him know he was given a ticket?…that Mole #3 thought this was funny?

IS IT TRUE that the Republicans have selected a candidate to oppose Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley in the election for the 3rd Ward seat on the Evansville City Council?…that this candidate has filed all of the forms to be placed on the ballot?…that this person is Alan Leibundguth who is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he was trained and served as a fighter pilot?…that he is very well spoken and connected in the Evansville community?…that the people of the 3rd Ward will have a very interesting decision to make when choosing whom to vote for?…that there will be some very distinct differences in the governmental philosophies of candidates Leibundguth and Riley?…that Alan Leibundguth is the son of the highly respected Dr. Henry Leibundguth who was medical entrepreneurs who established the practice now known as Tri-State Orthopedics?

IS IT TRUE that partners in a venture have a fiducial responsibility to first do no harm to the venture in which they are partners and secondly if granted management responsibility to further the prospects of that venture?…that in business there is a law that is commonly referred to as “PREVENTION DOCTRINE” to deal with people or entities that intentionally take actions that prevent another person or entity from fulfilling the terms of an agreement or contract?…that the PREVENTION DOCTRINE is a common-law principle of contract law which says that a contracting party has an implied duty not to do anything that prevents the other party from performing its obligation?…that a party who prevents performance of a contract may not complain of such nonperformance?…that PREVENTION DOCTRINE entails that, where one party to a contract takes an action that prevents the other party from being able to fulfill a condition precedent to that contract, the first party may not use its own action as a mechanism for avoiding performance of its contractual obligations?…that PREVENTION DOCTRINE is also known as PREVENTION OF PERFORMANCE DOCTRINE.

IS IT TRUE that PREVENTION DOCTRINE has been used successfully on many occasions in cases where a contract such as a stock option held by an individual is prevented from being exercised by the other party by obstructing the individual’s ability to exercise that option before a contractual deadline?…that in some cases additional damages are assessed?…that it is universally frowned upon for one to benefit from a situation that was created only because another party was prevented from performing by the one that receives a benefit if the prevented party fails to perform?

IS IT TRUE? June 22, 2011 “The Hotel Appraisal”

IS IT TRUE that one of the documents that the CCO obtained by Freedom of Information Act is a Summary Appraisal Report issued to Martin Woodruff, CEO of Woodruff Hospitality LLC and dated September 20, 2010?…that this appraisal was made with respect to the Hyatt Place Hotel that was eventually chosen by the Evansville Redevelopment Commission as the winning response to their RFP?…that the appraisal did indeed specify that the hotel would be a Hyatt Place and would have 220 rooms, a gift shop, business center, pool, restaurant, bar, lounge, and fitness center?…that there is NO REFERENCE TO A PARKING FACILITY in the appraisal?

IS IT TRUE that as part of this appraisal that the real estate taxes on the completed hotel were estimated to be $260,000 per year?…that this amount of tax was estimated based upon an analysis done on eleven (11) newer hotels in the City of Evansville that range from 56 rooms to 250 rooms?…that this analysis resulted in an average assessment per room of $62,717 per room?…that the appraisal rounded this average up to $70,000 per room to estimate the assessment of the new 220 room Hyatt Place to be exactly $10,000,000?…that the math does not work ($70k x 220 > $10M) but that there was another assumption that the assessment would have a multiplier of 65%?…that an assessment of $10 Million was the basis to calculate the expected taxes of $260,000?…that the State of Indiana has a constitutional mandate for assessments to be at market value?

IS IT TRUE that there are typically three ways to arrive at an appraised value of a property?…that these are the COST APPROACH that is based on what it cost to build the hotel, the INCOME APPROACH based on the cash flow projections anticipated, and the COMPARABLE SALE APPROACH?…that the COMPARABLE SALE APPROACH is preferred because it reflects the current real estate market which does not always reflect the COST to build or the INCOME projections?

IS IT TRUE that the COST APPROACH appraisal of $33 Million must have been pretty easy to arrive at because the Project Uses and Sources Section of Woodruff Hospitality LLC’s bid document estimated that exactly $32,880,000 would be spent to get the hotel to opening day?…that this very same document did not include a parking garage and actually estimated the cost of a parking garage to meet City of Evansville codes to cost an additional $5 Million?…that those things alone now have the “official estimate” of the construction at $38 Million?…that when the miscellaneous other costs are included that this has been known to be over a $40M job for a long time now just as the CCO has published?

IS IT TRUE that the INCOME APPROACH yielded a stabilized (2 years after opening) appraised value of $34.8 Million entirely on the pro-forma that was part of the bid package?…that the projected occupancy rate used for this pro-forma was 68% occupancy at a nightly rate of $125 per room?…that this approach to valuation is very sensitive to initial assumptions and that if the assumptions would have been a more typical for the Evansville market of 60% and $99 that this approach would have yielded an appraisal of slightly under $25 Million?…that the appraisal reflects the calculation based on the input from the pro-forma which is dependent on the validity of the assumptions?…that there are plenty of market driven questions and uncertainties that could alter this method dramatically?…that the old adage of GIGO (garbage in = garbage out) applies?

IS IT TRUE that the best indicator of the market value of a piece of real estate is what the most recent sold comparable property actually sold for?…that this is why the COMPARABLE SALE APPROACH is the most sought after number for collateralization purposes?…that 14 sales were referenced in the appraisal as comparable?…that the sale dates of the properties ranged August of 2004 to November of 2006?…that the peak of the commercial real estate market came in 2006 and this appraisal was completed in 2010?…that confuses us because it seems to be common knowledge that the so called “real estate bubble” burst sometime between 2006 and 2010?…that we wonder why no more recent comparable sales were considered?…that given the date of the comps that the value of the COMPARABLE SALE APPROACH in this appraisal most likely reflects what the 2006 value may have been?…that this appraisal rejected the dollars per room approach and opted for a formula that simply multiplies the Gross Income PROJECTION from the pro-forma’s 3rd year and multiplies it by 4.15 to arrive at a value of $35,100,000?

IS IT TRUE that this choice sort of negates the entire theory of the COMPARABLE SALE APPROACH and relies on the assumptions of the INCOME APPROACH for validity?…that if the real COMPS were used that the MEAN SALE PRICE per room of $93,144 would yield a valuation for the 220 room Hyatt Place hotel of exactly $20,491,168?…that this reflects what the comparable value WOULD HAVE BEEN IN 2006?…that one thing that everyone knows is that commercial real estate of all kinds is worth less in 2011 than it was in 2006?…that if a conservative discount were applied to the 2006 value of 25% that a current market value (that is the price this thing would sell for if placed on the market) is closer to $15 Million than it is to $30 Million?…that therein lies the financing quagmire that the ERC and the winning bidder find themselves in?

IS IT TRUE that John Kish stood before the Evansville City Council in May and opined that the assessment would be equal to the cost to build?…that this sort of blows the estimate of the real estate taxes off the table?…that if the constitution says that assessments shall be at market value that market value is what they shall be?…that if the construction price really reflects market value that the real estate tax estimate should triple?…that you really should not be able have it both ways?…that obtaining an appraisal for over $30 Million and then pleading with the tax man for an assessment of $10 Million in a state with market value assessments is really trying to have ones cake and eat it too?…that we surely hope that sanity and constitutional conformity will prevail?

Finally IS IT TRUE that the appraisal assumes a full tax abatement will be granted for 10 years?…that if it is not that the income figures on the pro-forma should be adjusted down to reflect the payment of real estate taxes?…that this will reduce the appraisal’s valuation?

IS IT TRUE? June 22, 2011

IS IT TRUE that based on a call of reminder from Mayor Weinzapfel’s office that the City of Evansville DMD did indeed provide the City County Observer with access to all of the documents that we had requested under the Freedom of Information Act?…that this request was for everything between any City of Evansville entity and VenuWorks and with Woodruff Hospitality?…that our focus was and is on the management of the Arena and with the status of Evansville’s ability to actually get a downtown convention hotel off of the drawing board and onto the corner of Walnut and Martin Luther King Drive?…that we will be publishing more details of the pound of paper as the week progresses?…that there were no redactions and that nothing was held back?…that many of the caution flags that the City County Observer has raised and especially with respect to valuation are confirmed in the appraisal?

IS IT TRUE that it is now widely reported that there is a classic power struggle that is going on inside of Woodruff Hospitality LLC?…that at the present time that Martin Woodruff the majority shareholder controls the destiny of the ownership of the start-up business that was formed to build the downtown convention hotel that has had Evansville heads spinning for over a year now?…that the United States of America is a free and capitalistic nation and that Mr. Woodruff and the other shareholders of Woodruff Hospitality LLC are free to sell their shares to whatever QUALIFIED INVESTOR that they agree to sell them to?…that Mr. Woodruff and the other shareholders, one of which may be the Kunkel Group may keep their shares as long as they wish as well?…that in a free country that the market for the value that a corporate entity is perceived to possess and the negotiating skills of the ownership will determine any change of ownership?

IS IT TRUE that it has been reported for about a month that the Kunkel Group has intention to manage and acquire a majority interest in Woodruff Hospitality?…that it has been rumored for a few weeks but was just disclosed yesterday that there is another interested party?…that it sounds as though there may just be a bidding war going on for control of Woodruff Hospitality?…that we will be quite interested to see exactly how this Evansville episode of “Shark Tank” plays out?…that it had better play out quickly because the current extension of the closing date to show financing by Woodruff Hospitality LLC is June 30, 2011?…that is only 9 days from now?…that Woodruff Hospitality LLC requested a second 30 day extension to obtain financing from the ERC yesterday but that request was denied?…that if Woodruff Hospitality LLC does not satisfy this term in the “Downtown Hotel Development Agreement” by June 30th that there will be no valid contract in place to build a downtown convention hotel?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Redevelopment Commission just yesterday approved the reissue of a Request for Proposal to build the hotel that is essentially a request to assume the “Downtown Hotel Development Agreement” in its present form with the names and the dates changed?…that this opportunity is technically open to any interested party including Woodruff Hospitality LLC and the Kunkel Group should each entity choose to respond to the RFP in its present form?…that the real opportunity for the project to be reset to square one lies in the difficulty to obtain financing for the project according to the terms of the RFP?…that this will once again come down to VALUATION, COLLATERAL, AND LOAN GUARANTEES?

IS IT TRUE that in the commercial real estate market and particularly the hotel market of 2011 that the cost to construct greatly exceeds the present market value of the proposed hotel upon completion?…that this whole financing problem can be made to go away if the City of Evansville or some other entity that has the financial strength to guarantee the first loan steps forward?…that in the documents that the CCO examined yesterday that there were several letters from potential financiers stating exactly that in the respondents to the RFP bid packages?…that it has not just been the CCO that has taken this position during the past year but that some rather sophisticated financiers from “BIG CITIES” have been writing the same thing?

IS IT TRUE that just because someone writes an RFP with favorable or desired terms to themselves does not mean that the market will accept the terms nor does it mean that even a party that wishes to perform to the RFP can get financing?…that the next month will be the Reality Check for the financing phase of the Downtown Convention Hotel?

IS IT TRUE? Part 2 June 21, 2011 VenuWorks Duties and Contract

IS IT TRUE that the only contract between the Evansville Redevelopment Commission and VenuWorks that the City County Observer was provided by virtue of our Freedom of Information Act request is not really a long term contract at all?…that what is in place is a “Contract for Pre-Opening Consulting Services”?…that this contract expires on October 31, 2011?…that this document was entered into on February 24, 2011 with a stated goal to execute a “Definitive Agreement” within 30 days?…that it has now been 120 days and unless DMD is holding out on the CCO which we do not suspect that there is NO DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN VENUWORKS AND THE ERC TO RUN THE ARENA?…that this explains why there has not been any announcement of any dated and ticketed event for the Arena yet?…that execution of a DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT will void this temporary consulting contract?

IS IT TRUE that VenuWorks is paid only $8,500 per month plus expenses under the temporary contract?…that VenuWorks has taken the first step and hired an Executive Director for the Evansville assignment?…that if a DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT is not reached that the ERC is responsible for any severance that is due to be paid to the Executive Director?…that the ERC is responsible to provide VenuWorks with local office space until the Arena is opened?…that all indicators are that this space will be in the old Rug Merchant storefront on Main Street above the now closed Taste bar?…that the ERC has already approved a nice sign to hang in front of the Main Street office?…that all correspondence for VenuWorks is specified to be sent to their corporate address in Ames, IA?

IS IT TRUE that the Pre Opening Operational Tasks assigned to VenuWorks are paraphrased as follows?

A1 Provide personnel for all communications
A2 Submit complete marketing plan for advertising and sponsorships
A3 Submit written recommendations for Policies and Procedures to Operate the Arena
A4 Recommend marketing and event booking strategies
A5 Prepare a written list of supplies needed to start up the Arena
A6 Recommend a booking and rate policy for the Arena
A7 Recommend cost savings for the Arena
A8 Recommend strategies to solicit 3rd part vendor relationships (food, parking, tickets, etc.)
B1 Represent the Arena’s interests
B2 Implement booking and rental rate policies as approved by ERC
B3 Negotiate, execute and deliver in the name of VenuWorks all user agreements. If agreement is for more than one year then ERC approval is required.
B4 Negotiate, execute and deliver all vendor service contracts all of which are subject to the approval of ERC
B5 Implement all advertising and sponsorship sales consistent with the advertising plan approved by ERC
B6 Maintain accurate accounting records
B7 Issue timely financial reports to ERC
B8 Develop and implement a marketing plan for the Arena

IS IT TRUE that there have been no reports of any agreements that have been approved by the ERC for any of the tasks delineated in A1 through B8?…that we can therefore assume that there are no events booked, no vendors lined up, no rate structure in place, no long term contracts with tenants such as the Evansville Icemen or the UE Purple Aces signed, and no structural documents in place to secure recurring events like the Jehovah Witness convention, the Shrine Circus, Guns and Hoses, etc. etc. etc.?…that this really seems to be behind the 8-Ball when it comes to avoiding last minute rushes as we have become accustomed to with this project?

IS IT TRUE that the agreement is in paper form but that the CCO will digitize it soon and post a link to it on this website?

Call from Mayor Weinzapfel’s Office Prompted Release

On May 19, 2011 the City County Observer made three requests for the City of Evansville under the Freedom of Information Act. The request regarding Mayor Weinzapfel’s trip to Germany was honored quickly, professionally, and without incident. We found absolutely no problems with any of the expenses incurred by Mayor and Mrs. Weinzapfel on the trip that was substantially paid for without using taxpayer dollars from the City of Evansville.

Our other two requests were made to DMD and were responded to with letters of commitment in a rapid fashion. The date that they were due was June 16, 2011. That date came and went without further notice leaving DMD technically in violation of the FOIA. Yesterday and today the CCO made it known that DMD was in violation through the column IS IT TRUE.

This morning we were invited to come to DMD and given free reign of the materials that we requested and were basically treated like kings. DMD staffers informed us that Mayor Weinzapfel’s office had contacted them to make sure that the CCO request was honored. We do appreciate the kindness and cooperation of both offices.

What we made copies of are the following:

1. Contract for pre-opening consulting services between VenuWorks and the Evansville Redevelopment Commission.

2. Down hotel development agreement between ERC and Woodruff Hospitality LLC

3. Summary Appraisal Report: Hyatt Place Hotel

4. Hotel Project uses and sources: By Woodruff Hospitality

Some of these are short and lend themselves to scanning and posting and others are extensive and will be easier to digest when we have reduced them to a readable size. We will be posting this content over the next few days.

Rick Davis, Democratic Party nominee for Mayor of Evansville, said Monday that the community deserves a final say in the ultimate fate of Roberts Stadium.

“The facility is paid off – it does not have a mortgage – and I feel that we can find a useful purpose of Roberts Stadium once the new arena opens,” said Davis, 42, who is the current County Treasurer. “Taxpayers spent $17 million to refurbish Roberts Stadium in 1990, and they deserve to see that due diligence is exercised before a final decision on the fate of this building is made by City leaders.”

Davis made his comments less than a week after it was announced at a Parks Board meeting that the City had scheduled Aug. 3 as the day to begin mothballing the stadium, which opened in 1956 but underwent an extensive $17 million remodeling in 1990.

Davis said he went door-to-door in the neighborhoods surrounding Roberts Stadium during the last six months “and I did not talk to one single person who thought the building should be demolished.” He noted that he held 8 Town Hall meetings earlier in the year, and the subject of Roberts Stadium continually came up, “and I have said from the very beginning that we need to have a community discussion on how our community can “Reinvent Roberts.”

Davis pointed to other local municipal buildings that have been saved when the community felt their previous usefulness had expired, including the Old Post Office; the Old Jail; the Old Courthouse; and The Coliseum. He also noted how past city leaders had demolished other iconic buildings to the dismay of Evansville residents, including the L&N Railroad, the old Central High School, and the old Community Center.

“Obviously, the Stadium cannot compete with those other old buildings whose fate met the wrecking ball when it comes to architectural beauty,” said Davis. “But the fact remains: Roberts Stadium is and remains an icon in the Evansville community and deserves to be ‘reinvented.’ We have invested $127.5 million in a new Downtown arena, and I understand it would be counterproductive to keep Roberts Stadium in its existing manner, which would compete with the new arena. But I fail to see the value to spend good taxpayer dollars to tear down a 21-year-old, $17 million investment. What a waste of construction materials and taxpayer dollars. We can do better with our investment.”

Davis said he also felt the stadium should be left alone for until local leaders are able to determine the new arena is equipped to handle annual Roberts Stadium events, including whether sufficient parking exists in Downtown to accommodate patrons, as well as to allow time for the community to help decide the stadium’s ultimate fate.

“Once you lose a convention for one year, it gives that group of people an opportunity to look at other communities to host their events, and they may never come back,” said Davis. “It just makes good economical sense to keep the stadium available as long as possible as a life raft to potentially cater to these important conventions, which boost our local economy year after year, in the event that something unexpected arises after the arena’s opening.