Thoughts on the Future of Roberts Stadium
By: Pete Swaim, Candidate for Republican nomination for at-large City Council seat
As many Evansville residents have pointed out over the last couple of years, Roberts Stadium has been more than a memorable fixture in our community for over 50 years. Those same folks have offered up a number of alternative uses, since the notion of ball fields has now been taken off the table. I became very familiar with the building and its operation during my time on the Sheriff’s Department, having worked security at events there for nearly three decades. I realize that any further use for Roberts, in its current configuration, must, first of all be made from a good business standpoint and that any of those uses should not conflict with the new downtown arena. I have compiled a partial list of events from the thoughts of others and some of my own that could extend the usefulness of the Stadium for many years to come. These would include, but are not limited to the following: A return of I.H.S.A.A. high school basketball regular season games and tournaments. During the hay days of a single class tournament, the building was packed during sectional, regional and semi-state play. The popular Great Lakes Valley Division II tournament was literally kicked out of town due to exorbitant rental prices. With reasonable fees, I can’t imagine they couldn’t be lured back to Evansville. Perhaps the Christian College Tournament, that’s now played in Oakland City, would be interested, not only in the building, but having additional hotel rooms and restaurants on the east side available to their fans. Other events such as monster trucks, tractor pulls and rodeos would be better suited to continue in Robert’s Stadium, allowing more time for total clean-up between events. I can also imagine the Jehovah’s Witness conferences, if given a choice, would rather be on the east side for the same reasons, if that event were not a conflict.
Even with events scheduled for Robert’s Stadium, it could also be kept as a regional disaster emergency center and house F.E.M.A.’s local offices, vehicles and emergency supplies for hundreds of potentially displaced residents.
The water being pumped from the water table beneath the floor is no longer a problem, since cleanouts were installed in the PVC pipes now in place. I’m proposing the 12,000 gallons per minute of 50 degree aquifer water, be channeled into geothermal heat exchangers to help defray the costs of heating and cooling the building. In theory, with this amount of water, the system could also incorporate Swonder Ice Rink into the loop. I will soon have the figures on the initial start- up costs for that equipment from a local company that specializes in this. So, these are some of the possibilities. I would be interested in hearing some more of your thoughts and ideas for additional events. Please forward your ideas to me at my campaign e-mail address…pete4council@gmail.com. Thanks for your interest in keeping the old gal a viable part of our community.
Pete Swaim
Republican Candidate for City Council at large
Pete,
I love your article. I have 2-3 possible teams interested from a local team owner and would like to see what you think about them. Please email me: JordanBaer1@gmail.com
There is nothing new in your article. Just repeats of repeats. Except for the geothermal idea. In that regard, please remember that Wesselman Nature Preserve and Park come first and that when Roberts was remodelled in the early 1990’s, the aquifer was disrupted. This greatly effected the Preserve. Be careful. Be very, very careful. And remember that the slogan should be “Make Roberts Stadium function, usefull, and efficient,” not simply to “Save Roberts Stadium.” Roberts can be a money maker for Evansville and should be used as a counterbalance to the new arena. But now it is just being used as a political football. Let’s settle into a new administration in the mayor’s office, a new city council, and a new attitude about open public involvement throughout
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