Well there’s only one Evansville 'stadium' that I knew
of…Roberts Stadium. My first memories of Roberts Stadium was when I was very
young…5 or 6 or 7 years old maybe. From our home in Owensville…about 30 minutes
northwest of Evansville…we would frequently drive by Roberts Stadium on our way
to see mom, or take her back to the state hospital where she was a patient.
The University of Evansville's basketball team...the Purple Aces...played their basketball games in Roberts Stadium. And in the '60s, Roberts Stadium became a frequent stop for me.
My high school, Vincennes
Lincoln, had some very successful basketball teams in my high school years. At tournament time…sectionals were played at Adams Coliseum in Vincennes…regionals
were played in Washington…and the semi state was played in Evansville at
Roberts Stadium. It was huge…by my standards then…and a great place for us
watch our basketball teams win games.
One of the things that made it different...at the time...was that the basketball surface was below ground level. Rather than walking into a stadium where the main floor was at street level...and you climbed up and up the steps to get to your seats...at Roberts Stadium...you walked in to the upper level of the arena...and you walked 'down' to your seats.
Also during those high school years…many of my ‘music’
buddies and I, went to Roberts Stadium to attend concerts of some of the popular bands
of the time. I saw bands like Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, Three
Dog Night, Rod Stewart, Badfinger, Seals and Crofts, and Canned Heat..all in Roberts Stadium...just to
mention a few that come to mind.
Well…the old stadium has apparently outlived its
usefulness. I suppose there is a new stadium somewhere else in town that now does the events
that Roberts Stadium used to.
The article says the stadium will be torn down and
converted to a park site. They hope that some of the contents of the stadium
can be sold off to people…like me…who have good memories of the old building. Reportedly, some of the seats from Roberts Stadium are to
be moved to the Mesker Ampitheatre, and some of the bricks from the arena will be
auctioned off to raise funds for the University of Evansville.
It will sure look different…the next time I drive through
Evansville and pass the site where the stadium sat. Memories from over 50 years
run through my mind…and apparently that will be all that remains…memories.
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