Once again we find a gem of Indianapolis architecture being allowed to fall into disrepair. This time it is the Natatorium.

A report on WTHR today described the effects of a leaking roof:

The leaking roof has created problems throughout the building, even the men’s locker room.

“The ceiling is falling in and down and you never know what’s crawling on the floor,” said .

In some places, plants are strategically placed to hide the damage, but there aren’t enough plants to hide it all. But perhaps not for long. Monday, IUPUI will present a multi-million dollar plan to renovate the natatorium to the Capital Improvement Board.

The CIB runs the city’s sports venues and helps pay for them with revenue from the hotel tax. Sources say IUPUI will ask the cash-strapped board to let it keep the tax money generated by its own hotel.

Video accompanying the story shows the damage. Walls that have been so saturated that they are crumbling that it has created gaping holes, which they conceal with potted plants.

After allowing extensive interior damage to occur, they tell us, “The renovation is estimated at $12-$14 million.”

And to make it even worse, they want to siphon off some tax revenues that ought to be going to the CIB to pay for the other facilities they manage. We all know the CIB is struggling to stay solvent and just recently announced it had put an end to the red ink it was bleeding.

Well, that didn’t last very long, did it?

Again it makes one wonder where is all the revenue these places are supposed to generate? How is it there isn’t enough cash rolling in to do maintenance?

And WHY would they let the roof leaks get so bad that it creates extensive interior damage? What would a roof repair have cost, had it been done when the leaks first started?

Now we have another $14 million for the CIB to pull out of thin air, and we haven’t even settled the matter of $15 million they’d like to hand over to the Pacers. After numerous cutbacks the CIB managed to stay in the black for a little more than one month.

Again we see evidence disproving the ludicrous assertion that these facilities are financial boons and showing us they are actually boondoggles. Pretty, yes. Fun, yes. Gems, of course.

But let’s get real. They are expenses, not sources of revenue. And THIS one is particularly maddening because it’s presented a repair bill that is perhaps 10 times what it ought to have been for a simple roof repair – because they just let it get worse and worse. Why should taxpayers have to suffer their incompetence?

Tags:   bailout · CIB · Natatorium · Pacers2 Comments