March 18, 2009

Evansville mayor: Arena will make little kids smile, bring rain of puppy dogs

We have another sports facility being touted as "economic stimulus," and this time it's an elected official doing the touting:

"There really couldn't be a better time to build a new arena," [Evansville Mayor Jonathan] Weinzapfel told members of the Rotary Club of Evansville. "It will create community pride, improve our quality of life and attract more prestigious and visible events to Evansville. An arena will be our own stimulus package.

"It will put hundreds of people to work and support more economic development Downtown. And we will not raise property taxes to build it."

The proposed downtown arena would cost $127 million, and be home to the University of Evansville Purple Aces basketball and hockey teams. Make your own joke, people.