Comments » 73

Groundbreaking writes:

in response to della:

i love how people are on here trying to say the arena cost $200 or $250 million because they want to add in the cost of interest. do you do that with your house? didn't think so.

the arena cost $128 million and that figure included land acquisition, design, and demolition costs. the actual cost of construction is closer to $100 million. the costs of renovating roberts stadium were estimated between $40 and $90 million (but it could have been even higher since there were a lot of unknowns).

the bottom line is that we have a beautiful state-of-the-art arena that will serve the city for generations to come. roberts stadium has served us well, but it is an obsolete, and now mothballed, venue. hopefully soon it will have a date with the wrecking ball.

Just curious--Why are you so determined to have it torn down?

radioriot#161981 writes:

Keep telling us your rationalisations Della.

No matter how you calculate the cost of your house or The Arena, someone will still have to pay the total costs.

The difference is you can sell your house. The city can't sell the Arena.

We will pay every dime of the 250 million over the next 35 years. And only then will The Arena have a snowballs chance at turning a small profit. That is unless we find out 10-15 years down the road that they used cheap materials and engineered it wrong.

I can tell you right now that the sight lines don't look good for basketball. (It's a Hockey Arena.)

As I suggested to some people Saturday at the Arena, and they agreed, the Arena is a nice stadium squeezed down to fit on a too small location.

pressanykey writes:

della wants to count the $128.Million in construction costs but does not want to count the $100.Million in interest.

What can you say about these liberal democrats that is not already apparent in della's statement?

Della, does paying the interest on your house for the next 20 years limit the amount of money you can spend for other needs?

Does determining the amount of interest you will be paying for the next 8 or 10 years on that new car loan have anything to do with the price you can afford to pay for a new car?

You tax and spenders are ruining the country and your leader in the White House is salivating at the idea of giving away even more tax dollars.


bigredmachine writes:

in response to From_the_outside:

I am not going to question whether the new arena was needed or not. The bad planning of it is my biggest gripe.

Just imagine taking your children to the new arena and having to park 7 or 8 blocks away when hundreds of cars are still arriving to the same show you are taking your kids to. Or maybe your are aware of the above scenario so you decide to drop off your kids first at the doors and then park. Good luck with that too. To top it all off, doing all that in the winter.

Do I need to say more?

What do moms do in other cities that have the same scenario? A 7 or 8 block walk may be the best thing someone does in a day.

bigredmachine writes:

in response to TigerGoodWoods:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

How is it smaller? Larger floor, larger capacity for concerts, able to have ice hockey, etc. Everything appears to be bigger Tiger....maybe you should check your math?

Perplexed1 writes:

This administration is good about baiting and switching at a tremendous cost to all!

Lets cancel the well planned out sewer site where the jail was for $1 million. Now as the area north of the airport grows faster then anywhere else look for more uncontrolled flooding now on the north side. This only cost us $1 million and a jail in with a residential exit.

Or how about the $3 million for an unplanned LST dock in Kentucky and the privilege to pay rent to a crony, when we own free property near pigeon creek where the LST's were actually built.

Or pay way too much a McCurdy parking lot! Or tear out the brand new $400,000 bicycle path in front of Aztar by mistake to put in the flood wall. Then have the taxpayers foot the bill.

Then sell a larger better arena that would attract newer and bigger shows that the stadium could not attract. Surely an administration would perform market analysis to support two facilities. They would not eliminate an Evansville Icon like the stadium which is one of the few identifiable city landmarks. This was never sold as a replacement for the stadium, but an improved venue magnet.

So we got this 25 year too soon arena 15,000 too small segmented venue. The location will demand at least three parking garages and off street parking so the traffic can be controlled.

Oh we will have to wait 35 years to tear down Logans Roadhouse, and Moto Mart again because we fail to plan. These guys are worried about a regular problem with buildings all over the country that are built below the water line with engineered pumps. I would have liked ro have seen that political ad??? Pumps before gangs, Pumps before jobs, Pumps before sewers, Pumps before commerce, and Pumps before anything else in life! Talk about the C&P and JW in PYA positional mode selling another expensive lie.

Biggest Crisis!! LOL!

Now we have the failed consolidation model used by Indy and Louisville being foisted on us as well.

So we get the fat lady in spandex arena that does not look natural in its surroundings.

The merger should die due to lack of purpose, and solution design.

11 member council with mba city/county planner.

3 member commission with mba city/county manager.

Elected County Sheriff over all law enforcement.

Merge Police, Fire, and Water department into the county model will actually save all money.

Perplexed1 writes:

in response to bigredmachine:


Less parking, less seating, less access, and you will still be scratching your head asking where are the people and retail? We built a too small arena without a hotel and proper upscale riverfront condos to support it! Geez do you people ever get out of town?

Once people get here they will exclaim "You guys live on a river?? Hmm never wold have guessed! Where is your resident activity area where that rock place is with a riverwalk pier!

Who will the C & P blame then! They have backed the Victory, Centre, Stadium and now the arena as the savior cf the downtown. How will this be different?

Eville_Westside writes:

in response to Westside2:

I went to the open house yesterday, did any of you whiners? I didn't think so. Because if you had you wouldn't be on here repeating the same old tired lines you've been putting on here for the last few years. It surpassed my expectations and is truly a first class facility. The vocal minority didn't want Roberts replaced, but the people did. The vocal minority didn't want the arena downtown, but the people did. The vocal minority "will never step foot in the Ford Center", but the people will. So you whiners stay home, make sure you mash your pills up in your applesauce real good, make sure you make it to Bob Evans for supper good and early so you don't miss Matlock before you go to bed at 6:30pm. The rest of us will be enjoying the Ford Center and the rest of what downtown has to offer. I don't agree with him on everything, but thank you, Mr. Mayor, for finally plowing through the negativity in this town and getting this done.

I went with my family because we are all paying for it and we were interested in seeing our investment. We intend to use it because that is what we got. Not really impressed but at least it is new. Here is why

1. The stadium is small and the score board is right in your face when you look up. It is so close it is blurry; you have to go to the upper seats for it not to be annoying.

2. The upper level is not safe. We are interested in how long it will take for someone to fall to the next level. We had to leave the upper deck because the seats rise aggressively to squeeze more people in. Your feet are at head level with the people in front of you and it gave my wife vertigo. She said she was really glad we went because now we know we can not sit in those areas.

3. When entering the upper seats the stairs stop right at the edge with little space to turn and there is little room to traverse thru seating. They have a flimsy rail with wire cable for containment before death. We did not feel safe and will not use that portion of the stadium. I had to guide my daughter by hand because this scared her.

4. Down low you walk on aluminum planking that is mobile for different events. It was flimsy and will become slick if it gets wet or if you have the wrong shoes. It flexed and made noise when you walked on it and we are not talking about a lot of traffic this day.

5. Saw little difference between it and Roberts quality wise other than less seating capacity. If we could have renovated Roberts for the 50 million sounds like a bargain because it looks like a stadium from the street and was not jammed in like Ford Center.

After seeing it this was a stupid moronic idea but that is what we have so, so be it I hope the idiots are proud. We will have to suffer a long time on this one.

funnycar writes:

Roberts should have never of been "renovated" in 1991. In hind sight of course, the water table issue would have never arisen (no pun intended)and the seats would still have enough leg room for adults. The best thing about the renovation was the side concourses.
A new arena (again in hindsight) should have been built downtown and by the river. Thats the biggest mistake made with then Ford Center I see.
As for the upper level seating, it will take getting use to. If you've been to Busch Stadium in St Louis and sat up high this will be familiar to you. I'll pay more and sit lower.
I would agree they should have police present before and after events.There are plenty of buildings for panhandlers and creatures of the night to lurk under and behind. We'll see.

Right writes:

My wife and I have attended many many concerts at Roberts in recent years. Enjoyed the location, easy access and ample parking. This new facility has none of these. I hope the “majority” of supporters who wanted it downtown enjoy your new stadium because I’ll never set foot in it. Frankly I hope it goes down in flames.

ElmerGantry writes:

Traffic for the new arena...someone told me they were going to hire 30-40 off duty police officers (are their that many officers in EPD and Sherrif's dept??) at a cost of 30 dollars an hour to get folks around downtown for an event of high attendance.

Kicking off the new arena with a yesterday act like Bob Seger (like him...he's just not a BIG act anymore, and hasn't been for a LONG while) is a sign of things to come...REO Speedwagon is sure to be here sometime soon.

It would've been nice to spend some tax dollars and fix our roads.

brodigga writes:

in response to MR_OPINION:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Mr_Opinion you have a nice comment with many good points about making a city better besides a "getting drunk" area. Perhaps over time this arena and its symbiotic relationship with downtown will prove successful and allow for further growth that you speak of. This will familiarize folks with downtown and everything will hopefully grow from there. Then over time things you mention like better infrastructure design and more artsy family oriented events will flourish here as well. We need to start somewhere to convince people that private dollars will be well spent and well received here. The arena will be a great catalyst to this.

della writes:

in response to TigerGoodWoods:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

the low end of the estimate to repair roberts stadium was $40 million and the high end was $90 million (at least that is what was in the report from the consultants).

db3860 writes:

in response to Ace_Dad:

During the last 20 years I worked in two aging facilities: one was a prison and the other was a school house. In both cases, the community, former workers, current workers, and the inhabitants (guards and prisoners at the prison and teachers and students at the schoolhouse) wanted to keep the older facility, if they could, based on nostalgia (in my humble view).

Independent cost studies were conducted and in both cases, the engineers, accountants, environmentalists, futurists, and anyone with a vote determined that in the LONG RUN, it was cheaper to build a new facility as opposed to continually repair and renovate the old one. So, the prison was torn down and a new one built. The schoolhouse was torn down and a new one was built. Today, the oldtimers visit both venues and lament about the "good ole days." I hear you.

Get over it. Let Roberts Stadium die. It served its purpose. Embrace Ford Arena, warts and all and support it. In regards to parking.....a lot of whining, in my opinion.

In regards to try to push your mother in a wheelchair for 3 to 4 blocks in the and and see how you like it. Parking for the Ford Center is a BIG problem. You just refuse to acknowledge it.

nefsigh writes:

in response to MR_OPINION:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Geez what hog wash. High crime area???/ Are you sure you live in Evansville? Close Main Street.>Again? Businesses are slowly but surely moving back to downtown. Did you really expect small businesses to move into the new arena area PRIOR to the building being built? You're right-that makes no sense.

As to a hotel, one will be built. Although you almost make one valid point, the increased focus on art and music should be happening in the downtown, not in the infamous Haynies Corner area.

I am willing to bet you will be the first in line to see that "big" name talent that comes the the Ford Center, we just wont ever hear you admit to going. After all, what fool drives 180-200 miles to spend 75 or more dollars on a ticket to see an act that will be here? Makes no sense, dollar and sense wise. But then, neither do most of your whines.

4evansville writes:

in response to seabreeze:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

I cannot wait until you are all proven wrong! And thankfully it's right around the corner. What will you say when you see the hundreds of people swarming the facility looking more and more like Indy and Cinci everyday! It's gonna be so cool to laugh at all the naysayers.

Rozy writes:

You people make me sick! The Mayor could have built the "Taj Majah"(?) at a bargain price and still some of you would be raising H@%*!!! Give it a break! The Ford Center is here now. You are going to have to live with it! Grow up why don't you! Get on with life! This is why Evansville is the way that it is. This is why you are where you are & people move from the area. Like I did!

thewatcher writes:

Is it Backwards to discuss non-existant parking issues and the lack of food/shopping/retail in the area? A mid level concert or two every 3-4 months and a couple of hundred folks going to see bush league hockey isn't going to cause anyone to open dining/retail in the area....wont happen.

hardrock writes:

Do you all remember in 1996 when they said the casino would revitalize the downtown area and bring in new business's for visitor to go patronize on main street. Well how did that work out. They spend all their money on the boat, gambling, eating ,and drinking and go home as soon as possible when they get off. Now they say the Arena will vitalize the downtown area. Good luck with that.

Eville_Westside writes:

in response to PocketCity:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

That was great!

funnycar writes:

in response to hardrock:


You are correct. I recall the downtown merchants getting mad as heck about this but then casino does what they want.
The benefit from the casino for evv is the tax revenue. Let the peoples vices pave the streets.

getreal68 writes:

in response to MR_OPINION:

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

I agree ......

bubbageek writes:





Bubba's response:
Do tell." ...
