thearmoryfoundation.com

Plans for renovation are in the making .  Lets follow suit Sheboygan.

2002- Rockets for Schools Program is thriving for a weekend and back to providing something different the next weekend.

Circa 2011:  Scan forward almost ten years. The Spaceport has the Armory for a $1 per year, no one else can enter ,but wait the same event is taking place at the Blue Harbor Convention center instead of the Armory which is supposed to be a spaceport.  Yes the taxpayers shelled out 8 million for this facility to replace the Armory .  That was enough to run the Armory for 80 more years given the  1990 – 2006 operatiing costs of  100,000 per year to run it. Looks to me like the Armory was a better Launch Control when all the citizens could still walk through its doors.

The Spaceport is open just in time for NASA to calls it quits. The cost to taxpayers continues every year at $25,000 per year for heat and utilities. The total now to taxpayers is almost $125,000 just to drive by and look at a vacant piece of history. The city even continues to cut the grass for free. Barely 1 in 100 people in Sheboygan even know that they also own the convention center in Blue Harbor and see almost no benefit or feel ownership in it like they did with the Armory. It would be great to see what kind of revenue loss that convention center has generated for Sheboygan. Sheboygan was stripped of the greatest Municipal Building in Wisconsin and the oldest NBA stadium in the US for an 8th grade science fair a few days a year.
This is a community tragedy. Why couldn’t the Armory Foundation take control? I would be booked daily with incredible events. It would be the place the be in Sheboygan and yes the Space camps can still take place there.
The new GLASEC schedule is posted on line and you can sign up now just as long as you are under the age of 14. This way you won’t see past the fact that nothing has changed for almost 5 years even though adults in the City Council and the Sheboygan Press continually believe that it will. The windows and paint are in decline. The roof is being patched with gobs of tar, and the sign that says future home after more then 5 years is dilapidating and peeling as it covers up the original words and purpose of Sheboygan’s pride and joy for over 60 years. The Armory is not in Detroit and it doesn’t deserve to be treated like it is.
It is inevitable the Spaceport will fail. The brains behind it are bankrupt to the tone of $200 million. The last Space Shuttle is being launched, and kids are just not interested in outer space. They will be more worried about getting across the state of Wisconsin when they grow up and Gas costs $10 dollars a gallon and they can’t even ride on a train like everyday people in Bulgaria do.
Visit the Armory now, it is open for all to see. Just be careful when you see how long the line is to get in, Not! Relive the memories and feel that special feeling when you look up and see what an incredible structure the Armory still is and what great events could still take place there. Also, don’t forget to check out the Atari Powered simulators and flee market Space Parts.
Remember the Armory’s purpose is not singular it is plural. Promoting community, charity, education, entertainment, competition, the arts, and tradition is the solution.

All previous blogs lost. Website to be remade.

Save the Armory
Sheboygan’s Colosseum
Lets not waste a piece or Sheboygan’s History.
70 years of tradition can continue.
It was built for Sheboygan and can still benefit Sheboygan.
Majority of Sheboyganites still love the Armory. (A timeless building of Quality)
Armory could be used for so many great things and bring revenue to the city.

The Armory just needs Fresh Ideas and Some Old Traditions!
Concerts and venues with seating and standing; 5000 person capacity, Trade shows of all types and styles, Motorcycle /car shows. Dances, Multiple Sporting events local and national, Local Art shows, Taste of Sheboygan, Sipping on the shores, Plays, GusMacker Finals, Basketball Tournaments, Boat shows, Farmers Markets, Koho Derby, Firing Range competitions, Fundraisers, Cultural fests, US Sailing camps, Technical Workshops, Graduations, Reunions, Charter School Events, Political Rallies. Has classrooms for seminars. Weddings, Proms, Independent films, National Guest Speakers, Circus (now at Blueline). ect, ect.

Voluntary Armory staff could book events and functions for City of Sheboygan.
Can seat 3500 people, at 10 dollars a ticket, 35,000 dollars for one event in revenue.
City still pays the bills $25,000 a year for heat alone $125,000 since closing. Why can’t taxpayers use it?
Times where good when we gave it away. (Short Term thinking)
Just because we have new field-houses does not leave the Armory without a purpose.
This is a Multipurpose building, not a single purpose that will fail in one or two years, then what?
Firing Range could be used by the public instead of Urban middle school.
Do we really want Blueline representing Sheboygan for events? It is not the Armory and never will be.
Times are tough and the Armory can draw revenue for the City.
Could also be used as a Charter School location.
Could be retrofitted with federally subsidized solar hot water roof panels to offset heating costs.

Why the Spaceport won’t work…
Who is going to take multiple visits to a small museum that never changes?
Three Years and still 11 million dollars still needed, and from who in today’s economy.
5 million donated supposedly, but 4 million was The Armory donation and the city still pays the bills
Floor Display still looks like an Eighth grade science fair after three years of effort
The same reason Blue Harbor won’t work, to much overhead and not enough demand.
Kids have a Xbox 360 at home and do not get excited by 20 year old simulators
Most cities already have an Imax theatres.
The majority of people in Sheboygan under age 60 are not excited about it.
Nothing serious could be launched within the city anyway, It would have to take place outside the city.
We can’t ride a train to Milwaukee so why are we worried about space travel.
Space programs being cut nationwide.
Becoming an Astronaut , odds 13,200,000 to 1 is less likely then playing in the NBA.
Peak oil will put spike through the last efforts of space travel funding.
NASA funding drastically cut: 22000 to be laid off in Florida this year alone.

Other Options
Education Space port could be housed in Triple Play building.
Education Space Port: Great idea for Oshkosh air museum
Space school could still take place for two weeks in May at the Armory and then be taken down.