Evansville Looking at Quest as Model

[UE-BBALL#1]

The city of Evansville is now looking at whether they should spend a bunch of money to remodel Roberts Stadium or a bunch more money to build a new stadium. Obviously this is important as UE plays their games in the city's stadium. At tonight's forum on the topic they spoke of the Quest and how Evansville should use what they did there as a model for a potential new stadium.

[-Z-]

Didn't the city put several 10s of millions into the building in the early 90s to modernize it? I went there several times after that and it's much better than it was in the 70s. It's a nicer arena than SIU, InSU, MSU, BU and UNI have and just as good as DU and IlSU with nicer and more seats.
Isn't capacity about 12,300 counting the suites? It's a better place to watch hoops than IU's Assembly hall or Purdue's Mackey Arena not that they're hard to top.

[valleyclimber]

this is good news for the UE program, but wasn't it just a couple of years ago that they were considering going non-D1?:valley:

[WheatShock'd]

There is no way the city of Evansville can afford anything even remotely similar to the Qwest Center ($300 million). The city cannot support an arena this size and would be a huge white elephant for the taxpayers. Des Moines is finding that out with Wells Fargo Arena (and DSM dwarfs Evansville)...No real tennant, tough getting concerts that would rather go to Omaha or Kansas City, and over-saturation of smaller facilities in the market. I am affraid Wichita may be on the same track with our new, upcoming arena...Smaller metros building large, elaborate arenas is becoming the norm and a lot of cities are regretting their decisions. Omaha was fortunate, because their city is large enough to draw the kinds of events needed to justify the building and can compete with Kansas City (even with their new Sprint Center) for events.

The capacity at Roberts is already more than enough. I think they would be better offer remodeling Roberts or build something similar to UNI's new arena. However, since it is a city-owned venue, they would probably be better off remodeling and keeping the capacity for other events.

[UE-BBALL#1]

Roberts has a lot of flooding problems, among other things. The floor is one of the worst I've ever been on in terms of dead spots. Nothing bigger than Roberts is needed but that doesn't mean it won't be done, as people here are convinced that big concerts don't come here because of the lack of a big enough arena. If a new arena is built people want it to hold 18-20k. Regardless of whether the arena is updated or a new one is built, I figure it affects UE.

[-Z-]

According to the US Census, Evansville has just 121,500 people in the city and 345,600 in the metro area. An arena seating 20,000 would hold a sixth of the city population. This seems to be way over doing it, especially with an arena that was just massivly redone about 16 years ago and a basketball team that has not drawn a full house in years.
Got floor problems, get a new floor. Got flooding problems, put in pumps. Can't get big concerts, get more people to buy tickets to the ones that come first.

[DUBulldog]

The city cannot support an arena this size and would be a huge white elephant for the taxpayers. Des Moines is finding that out with Wells Fargo Arena (and DSM dwarfs Evansville)...No real tennant, tough getting concerts that would rather go to Omaha or Kansas City, and over-saturation of smaller facilities in the market.

I'm not sure if I agree with this statement. There have been at least a dozen concerts at the new arena in less than a year, most of which Des Moines would have had no chance of landing previously....including Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen (upcoming concert). The only big tours that bypassed Des Moines were U2 and the Rolling Stones....both of which started planning their tours before Wells Fargo Arena was complete.

While the new arena doesn't have a permanent tennant, other than a AAA hockey team, I'm not ready to call it a white elephant yet.

[Mike]

I heard that Wells Fargo Arena can seat 16,000+ for basketball. When the arena was built, what BB team did they anticipate would use the facility? Drake University? Iowa State (a couple of times a year)? State BB tournament?

[DUBulldog]

I heard that Wells Fargo Arena can seat 16,000+ for basketball. When the arena was built, what BB team did they anticipate would use the facility? Drake University? Iowa State (a couple of times a year)? State BB tournament?

State basketball tournaments mostly. Iowa State will probably play there once a year, and there's a chance that Drake might play their "home" games with Iowa and/or Iowa State there.

Drake and the city of Des Moines have applied to host regionals for both the men's and women's NCAA tournament.

[blueblood]

Johnie Quest does not reside in Omaha. We do however have an arena that is named after the telecom Qwest. I have heard the arena in Des Moines is doing well. As the Qwest undergoes adding some seats, I heard they in fact will be stealing "The Boss" from Omaha.
The Qwest has in fact, changed Omaha. No comparison.

[UE-BBALL#1]

According to the US Census, Evansville has just 121,500 people in the city and 345,600 in the metro area. An arena seating 20,000 would hold a sixth of the city population. This seems to be way over doing it, especially with an arena that was just massivly redone about 16 years ago and a basketball team that has not drawn a full house in years.
Got floor problems, get a new floor. Got flooding problems, put in pumps. Can't get big concerts, get more people to buy tickets to the ones that come first.

Basically the pumps don't work, which is a problem. They redid the highways around the stadium a few years back and basically put all of the water into the ground beneath the stadium. Of course they didn't think about this until years after the road work. The stadium pump system had to be completely replaced last year and in order to get it to where it actually needs to be, along with upgrading other problems with the stadium, the cost is about 1/3 of what they project a new stadium could cost. So pay 1/3 for a fix now or pay the whole thing for a brand new one, thats the big question facing the city right now. I think they expect some type of decision during the summer.

[Hooloovoo]

Based on the problems people are talking about, a new arena might be good for Evansville, but nothing the size of thew Qwest. I would probably say something that could hold between 8 and 11 thousand would be about right and could be very cool if done well.

Building something to hold 15k+ would be a HUGE mistake for Evansville. This is a similar thing that is trying to be done in Lincoln, where they want to build a Qwest-sized facility that would NEVER fly in that market.

[-Z-]

UE, Keep us updated this summer.

[Ace Happy]

This is a pay up now or pay more later situation.

I am in support of a new, reasonably sized stadium, but going beyond our existing capacity of 12,300 in a new stadium won't be justified by UE's attendance anytime soon, if ever.

The bigger controversy for most is where it should be built - on the existing site or somewhere downtown. I think it would be good for the city's businesses for it to be downtown, but this could drive the price up considerably.

This decision will take a while to get done because of the politics. The last mayor lost his reelection due to trying to build a baseball stadium downtown by cutting a deal with some private investors and then tried to ram it down the public's throat without much public debate about the initative. I'm afraid Roberts Stadium will be here for awhile pumping water out as necessary (BTW - I like Robert's ambience for a basketball arena - just need more fans).

[Ace95]

DUBulldog has this in the right frame of mind. While UE is the main tenant for Roberts, the building has to be used year-round in order to generate revenue for the city.

From what I've read, concert promoters are starting to pass Evansville by because Roberts simply doesn't meet their needs anymore. The renovations from 10 years ago made the stadium an excellent basketball facility, but they also reduced the floor space necessary for trade shows and other events.

A 15,000+ seat arena would bring some of these larger concerts and events back to Evansville. If Evansville is to remain a viable draw for events that bring visitors into the city rather than just attracting the locals, a modern multi-purpose indoor arena is a necessity. The debate will eventually be where to put it. Do we bulldoze the current stadium and build on that site, or do we build something new downtown?

Here's a story from WFIE that sums up the situation quite nicely. (http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=4818809)

[MSNSaluki]

While I think Evansville is improving, I can't believe a new arena is being talked about at this point. Usually new arena's get built after success.

Except in Carbondale.

[WheatShock'd]

The whole "build it and they will come concept" is a dangerous one, especially for smaller cities. Just because Evansville builds a 15,000 seat arena does not mean they will get Paul McCartney or the Rolling Stones. You need to have a population to draw from and Evansville is not large enough, unfortunately. The Qwest Center has a population base in the Omaha-Lincoln area of what 1.2-1.3 million people? Plus the ability to draw from Sioux City and a lot of times Des Moines. That is a big difference.

I didn't mean to imply that WFA was a white elephant yet, it is still way too early for that kind of label. However, the city hyped that arena as being what is needed to bring DSM to the "big-time" and IMO it has certainly underperformed as to what was being advertised. I still think the key is having a successful, revenue-generating tenant (minor league hockey doesn't count). Hell, bring back the Iowa Barnstormers! A few concerts alone are not enough to keep this facility in the black. Especially since a lot of concerts are still skipping over DSM in favor of Omaha, despite having a similarly-sized facility. I just think it will be interesting to see what happens when Kansas City's Sprint Center opens up and how it will effect competition between the 3 major venues in the region (Sprint, Qwest, and WFA). Hopefully there is enough to spread around to all 3 markets, but I just have a feeling that DSM is going to get the shaft being the smallest of the 3...

[UE-BBALL#1]

While I think Evansville is improving, I can't believe a new arena is being talked about at this point. Usually new arena's get built after success.

Except in Carbondale.

UE isn't building it, the city is. UE plays in the city's stadium.

[Aces101]

If Evansville builds an arena, it had better hold 15,000-18,000 people or it would be a waste of time. The city needs it for more than Aces basketball. Concerts, trade shows, conventions, etc would use it more than Roberts is currently being used. An 15,000+ seat arena allows Evansville to enter the NCAA tournament mix again as a host for first round games. It hosted games in the 1980's and before...........why not again. Indiana and Kentucky are hotbeds for basketball. If they can host games in Boise and Dayton, why not Evansville?

I also have toyed with the idea that Evansville could possibly land one of the NBA Developmental League teams.....close proximity to the Pacers and Bulls as a "minor league" team.

[WheatShock'd]

If they can host games in Boise and Dayton, why not Evansville?


Populations:

Boise = 524,884

Dayton = 1,078,634

Evansville = 348,454

That's why. Boise & Chattanooga (that I can recall) are by far the smallest markets to host NCAA games. If you look at the future trend of where the NCAA is scheduling sites, almost all of them are in major cities:

Buffalo, Sacramento, Omaha, Chicago, Columbus, New Orleans, Spokane, Anaheim, Denver, D.C., Raleigh, Birmingham, Tampa, etc.

The reason? Simple. They want to put butts in the seats. You have a better chance filling up venues in those larger markets than say an Evansville, Peoria, or Springfield.

[Ace Happy]

Here's where the newspaper stands:

Roberts Stadium
The Issue: Hearings leave little doubt that Evansville needs a new facility. Our View: Look Downtown and dream a little.

April 30, 2006

Evansville allowed a tremendous opportunity to pass it by16 years ago when it refused to take a hard look at building a Downtown multipurpose stadium. Let's not allow that to happen again.

And, frankly, we don't think it will. During the months of public hearings on the future of Roberts Stadium, enough public interest has been expressed in a Downtown facility that we think it will get due consideration this time around.

That wasn't the case in 1990 when the city, recognizing that the stadium was wearing out, went forward with a $16 million upgrade without seriously considering the option of building Downtown. At that time, there was some interest, as well as strong urging from this newspaper, for the city to at least consider a new stadium, perhaps on the riverfront. But there wasn't enough support to deter the city from pouring its money into the old building. That upgrade gave the city a nice facility for a few years, but it turned out to be an expensive temporary fix. Here we are only 16 years later, and the fine old stadium that served the region so well for so many years has had it. Based on comments from professionals who use the old stadium, that's an unavoidable conclusion. The stadium doesn't have enough seats, the floor isn't large enough, and the ceiling and roof can't support the weight of the equipment that entertainment acts use. It has outlived its functionality.

To again upgrade Roberts Stadium would cost more than $30 million, and how long would that last? Another 16 years?

If Evansville wants to once again be home to the Tri-State's premier entertainment/sports venue and to reap the economic benefits of such a role, it must build a new municipal stadium. The cost, at least the figure tossed around at public hearings, would be $90 million-plus. We'll know more after the city hires an expert to determine the costs, financing options and possible locations.

In the meantime, let's think about the possibilities.

It could be that the city will determine it must build on the present site. Given no other choices, that would be acceptable. The city owns the land, and it is a known location. But what if the city did something out of character, something bold, something that would turn heads? What if it built a new municipal stadium right in the heart of Downtown?

Several factors make us believe it is doable. For starters, the city isn't going to build anything of significance without private help. If the financing is left only to the taxpayers, we'll probably be in old Roberts Stadium for another 16 years.

Two corporate citizens, Vectren and Old National Bancorp, have expressed interest in sponsoring a new stadium, and it has been reported that Vectren chief Niel Ellerbrook leans heavily toward a Downtown location. Not only does the city own a good bit of land Downtown, but the landscape is dotted with parking garages that could ease the burden of parking for a new stadium.

As for the current stadium property, we suspect that it would be prime real estate if put on the market. What to do with it may not be a major factor in this decision.

More than anything, we sense that Downtown is just a few pieces shy of taking off. The city administration and private investors are bringing new residents to the district. Casino Aztar's entertainment/hotel complex is growing. The Centre and The Victory are in place. Put a new municipal stadium amidst these other developments, and Downtown would explode with life. It has happened in other midsized cities, and it can happen in Evansville.

We won't know for some time whether this is a doable venture. In the end, it may not be. For now, all we ask is for people to consider the possibilities. Go ahead - dream a little.

http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/editorials/article/0,1626,ECP_768_4658563,00.html

[hondo]

I've heard that the stadium will not likely be big enough to host an NCAA tournament game. Also, I've heard that the current mayor doesn't want to chop his career through this process, so he is planning on leaving it up to the people... literally.

Also, the new arena isn't for UE. Roberts stadium additional operating costs as well as necessary repairs are likely to cost 45 million over the next ten years. The reason the new stadium is being discussed is that a new stadium is projected to cost about 15 million (60.0 M USD total) more than the additional overhead and repairs, and the city will have a new stadium that can house larger events and will cost less money to operate.

Also, Evansvlle is attempting to revamp its image and attractiveness to corporations in the hopes a upgrading the job market. This also includes annexing suburbs where higher income residents and a number of high volume businesses relocated to in order to avoid the higher taxation rates in the city. Because of this initiative, a new stadium holds tremendous appeal for the powers that be.

[WheatShock'd]

Kudos to Evansville for having a vision and a dream, a lot of cities need an attitude like that. Lets just hope whatever decision they make is the right one.