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Evansville Arena
New Evansville Arena Takes Shape With First Structural Steel
EVANSVILLE, IN – “We’re seeing the exciting design of our new Arena start to unfold,” Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel said today as crews began erecting the structural steel framework of what will be the region’s center for sports and entertainment when it opens in late 2011.
“We’ve made great progress in a short time,” Mayor Weinzapfel said. “As the steel work rises, we’ll begin to see the signature profile of a new downtown Evansville take shape.”
The new 290,000 square-foot Evansville Arena is designed for basketball and hockey as well as center-stage and end-stage events. Spectator areas will include club seats, loge seats and suites as part of a maximum capacity of 11,000. The Arena will be the new venue for hockey, concerts, exhibitions, shows, community events as well as the University of Evansville basketball teams.
The Arena will feature sweeping curved forms that evoke the City’s horseshoe bend in the Ohio River while providing a modern aesthetic expressed in Indiana limestone and glass. Along with a renewed hotel, the new Evansville Arena will work in conjunction with The Centre and other downtown attractions to create a vibrant atmosphere for sports fans, music lovers and conventioneers. The Arena site is located at the corner of Main Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard on a parcel that extends to Walnut and Sixth streets.
The project is expected to create 670 construction jobs. When the Arena opens, economic studies predict its operations and supporting activities will result in 530 permanent jobs.
Demolition work on the site began on October 23, 2009. Since that time, contractors have cleared the land of old construction, relocated and installed utility lines, put the foundation in place and built much of the main concourse that will surround the seating “bowl.” Steel erection will continue through November and the building should be fully enclosed by the end of 2010.
Bonds to finance the $127.5 million project were sold to investors in April. Funds to support the project will come from the food and beverage tax as well as gaming revenues from Casino Aztar and the downtown Tax Increment Financing district. No general property taxes are being used for the project.
The new Arena will replace Roberts Stadium, located east of downtown off the Lloyd Expressway. The new facility will feature a variety of premium seating options as well as full accessibility, six permanent concession stands and far more restrooms. Planners used sustainable design standards with the goal of achieving Silver Certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Progress on the new Arena can be viewed on the project’s web site at www.evansvillearenaproject.com.
Evansville Arena
EVANSVILLE – A revamped website and logo for the new Evansville Arena Project were unveiled April 8 at a public meeting of the Evansville Arena Project Committee. The changes are meant to make the website more user-friendly and provide complete, up-to-date information on the project.
The website, www.EvansvilleArenaProject.com, includes reports on economic impact, financing and the public process that resulted in the development of the new arena. The site also contains the latest news on the project, answers to frequently asked questions,
“Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel appointed our Committee in part to make sure that the public was kept fully informed about this crucial step forward in the City’s future,” Committee Chair Kathy Kleindorfer said. “This site will make information about the arena project available 24 hours a day and provide a way to ask questions and express concerns.”
The website, as well as the revamped logo for the arena project, was developed by McCool Media, Inc. of Evansville. The logo combines the profile of the arena with images of celebrating fans to express excitement about the arena and the impact that it will make on downtown Evansville and the rest of our community.
“The design of the arena has brought cheers from the community,” Kleindorfer said, “and we know that the real thrills will start when the new facility opens.”
The new Evansville Arena will be the region’s center for sports and entertainment, designed to host basketball, hockey, concerts, exhibitions, and shows for audiences as large as 11,000. It is set to open in fall 2011.
Wilhelm Construction
Louisville Arena reaches summit:
On schedule for November opening
Construction of the Louisville Downtown Arena reached its zenith with a public celebration this week. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson headed the list of dignitaries participating in the ceremony marking the attainment of the highest point in the construction. The arena will become the fifth-largest basketball arena in the U.S. when it opens in November.
F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. of Indianapolis was concrete contractor for the arena. Wilhelm built the concrete superstructure, including the seating bowl with capacity for 22,000 people, lobbies, entrances and aprons leading into the arena. Wilhelm also built an adjoining 760-space parking garage.
Wilhelm finished the arena’s concrete superstructure in December. In rising to dramatically change the skyline of downtown Louisville, the structure required the pouring of 38,000 cubic yards of concrete (about 3,800 trucks full) and 3,630 tons of steel rebar. Approximately 130 workers for Wilhelm and other subcontractors worked on the concrete superstructure at the work’s peak.
The steel and metal roof was added to the structure since December, resulting in Monday’s topping-off ceremony.
The Louisville Downtown Arena is located along the Ohio River at Second and Main streets. The arena will be home to the University of Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams. UofL President James Ramsey and athletic director Tom Jurich also will participate in Monday’s ceremony.
A wide range of other events including concerts, circuses and ice shows will be staged in the downtown arena.
Wilhelm Construction specializes in complex construction projects in Indiana and throughout the Midwest. Wilhelm’s other work in the Louisville area includes concrete construction on Papa John’s Stadium, the parking garage at Louisville International Airport, and the Horseshoe Casino pavilion, hotel and parking garage in Elizabeth, IN.