By Jimmy Nesbitt, Evansville Courier & Press
The Roberts Stadium Advisory Board has had months to question and analyze data from a consultant studying the facility. Now it's the public's turn.
With the board meetings completed, several members said Thursday that they will wait until after the April 1 public hearing to make a decision on the future of the stadium.
"I appreciate that they are covering all the bases," board member Jayne Buthod said Thursday. "There are obviously still a lot of financial questions still to be clarified, but (the consultants) have cautioned us about that all the way through the process."
"I think that it reflects their overall expertise in the information that this industry has determined through past experience," she said. "There are obviously empty lots all over the community, but I don't think you necessarily get the best solution just by plopping it any place you have open ground."
Some board members have spoken in favor of building a 10,000-seat arena Downtown. Buthod said she thinks a renovation should be considered.
Consultant Tom Chema estimated renovating the Stadium with 10,000 seats would cost $38.2 million to $89.9 million. A 10,000-seat arena built somewhere else would cost $92.2 million, he estimated.
Those figures assume a 6 percent contingency plan for the cost of construction.
Board member Joe Vezzoso Jr. said he has preferences for the location of a new arena but did not want reveal them.
Vezzoso said he was pleased to see the consultants focus on the area for a new arena.
"I'm in full belief that part of the issue here is, How do we create economic development?" Vezzoso said. "I think they've proved that in other communities that if you locate these centers outside of a downtown area, then you don't really see that development around the arena."
Vezzoso, who is also president of the Convention & Visitors Bureau's advisory board, said many businesses would benefit from a new arena.
"I think the community as a whole from an economic standpoint will benefit from it," he said. Still, Vezzoso said he hasn't ruled out a renovation of Roberts Stadium.
"We have issues with the facilities. Could those be addressed with renovations? I'm not sure. At the end of the day, if a new arena would attract more shows to come to Evansville, more events to come to Evansville as opposed to remodeling the existing facility, then I would probably fall on the side of a new facility," he said.
Republican activist Kelley Coures, who supports a renovation of Roberts Stadium but not a new arena, said he has yet to see any evidence from Gateway Consultants showing the economic benefit of a new arena. Coures said he believes a renovation of the stadium "has been completely written off."
The public hearing is scheduled for April 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Centre in Locust Rooms A to D.
"I'm hoping that (the public) takes interest in the future of Roberts Stadium, so that we get a fair and balanced view of what the community wants," board member Michelle Quinn said. She said she has unanswered questions about the construction of a new arena.
Steve Bagbey, a board member and former city councilman who supports building a new arena Downtown, said it's time "to see what the public wants, then take a look then what we can do relatively inexpensively."