Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel announced today the formation of the Evansville Arena Project Committee. The Committee’s mission is to work in collaboration with the Mayor’s office to keep the public informed about various aspects of the project and help evaluate key decisions.

“The Roberts Stadium Advisory Board invested a lot of time and effort in the process of determining that the City should no longer invest in Roberts Stadium and instead move forward with building a new arena downtown,” said Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel. “The Evansville Arena Project Committee will help us with the important task of keeping the public informed about the arena project as it moves forward.”

Chairing the Evansville Arena Project Committee will be Kathy Kleindorfer, granddaughter of Mayor O.H. Roberts for whom Roberts Stadium was named. Kleindorfer is also the President of the Roberts Stadium Foundation Board. The Foundation was formed to build and manage the cases at Roberts Stadium that pay tribute to the history of basketball in our region. It also funds capital projects such as locker room renovations for the University of Evansville teams.

A majority of the members of the Roberts Stadium Advisory Board have agreed to continue their work as part of the Committee. Also being added are representatives of groups that have a vested interested in the arena and the future of our City. They include hockey interests, downtown business owners, students, young professionals, and representatives of the Carpenters and Electrical Workers Unions just to name a few.

In addition, a logo and slogan have been created for the Evansville Arena Project Committee. The slogan is, “A brighter future is just around the bend.” A copy of the logo is attached to this press release.

Mayor Weinzapfel also announced at today’s press conference that a new informational website has been created for the downtown arena- www.evansvillearenaproject.com. The website contains all previous information and studies related to the arena. Updates will also be posted as they occur. There is also a “Contact Us” section where visitors to the website can leave their comments or ask questions.