Roberts Municipal Stadium
| Location | 2600 East Division Street Evansville, Indiana 47711-6813 |
|---|---|
| Owner | City of Evansville |
| Operator | SMG |
| Capacity | 12,732 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | March 18, 1955 |
| Opened | October 28, 1956 |
| Renovated | 1980, 1990 |
| Closed | October 29, 2011 |
| Demolished | January 2013 |
| Construction cost | $2 million $1.2 million (1980 renovations) $16.2 million (1990 renovations) |
| Architect | Robert Legeman |
| Tenants | |
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Evansville Purple Aces (NCAA) (1956-2011) Evansville BlueCats (NIFL/UIF) (2003-07) Evansville Thunder (CBA) (1984-86) |
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Roberts Municipal Stadium was a multi-purpose arena in Evansville, Indiana for sports, public events, and concerts. The arena was built in 1956. It seated up to 12,732 spectators and featured four locker rooms and a press room. The building was demolished in 2013.
The arena received a $16 million upgrade in 1990. In 2007 the city of Evansville hired a professional consultant to examine whether the stadium should be renovated or replaced with a new downtown arena. In December 2008, the Evansville city council approved plans to construct the new arena, which opened in the fall of 2011 as the Ford Center.
It was co-managed with Mesker Amphitheatre, The Centre, and Victory Theatre.
The sports arena seated 12,500 for basketball. It was the home of the University of Evansville's Purple Aces basketball program from its opening in 1956 until the Aces moved downtown into the new Ford Center in 2011.
From 1957 to 1977, Roberts Stadium served as the host site for the NCAA College Division (now referred to as Division II) Men's Basketball National Championship. It again hosted the "Elite 8" in 2002. In addition, it regularly hosted a variety of other sporting events, most notably the Great Lakes Valley Conference (NCAA Division II) men's and women's basketball tournaments in early March of every year. It also hosted the 1980 and 1983 Midwestern City Conference (now Horizon League) men's basketball conference tournament. It also hosted multiple IHSAA regional and semistate basketball games in the single-class tournament.
From 1984 to 1986, Roberts Stadium was home to the Evansville Thunder of the Continental Basketball Association, who were coached in 1984 by Utah Jazz Coach, and University of Evansville alumnus Jerry Sloan.
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