Gone, but not forgotten: Eugene Civic Stadium
EUGENE, Ore. - A group of preteen boys playing with fire set the wooden grandstands of historic Civic Stadium on fire a year ago Wednesday.
The fire destroyed the structure, built in 1938.
A year after the fire, the Eugene Civic Alliance - which acquired the property in April 2015 - has pivoted from a plan to rehabilitate the stadium to instead build a new youth sports center and stadium.
The four boys involved in setting the stadium on fire remain in a 5-year program of community service, education and safety training through the local juvenile justice system.
Civic Stadium opened to the public as host of the annual Eugene-Corvallis high school football game October 28, 1938. The teams played to a 0-0 tie.
The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
The Eugene Emeralds won a championship in 1975 with Civic as home field.
The Ems moved to PK Park after finishing the season at Civic in September 2009 with a 5-3 loss to the Keizer Volcanoes.
The stadium sat vacant as the property's owner, the Eugene 4J School District, wrestled with plans for the property's future before agreeing to sell to the Civic Alliance in a deal made possible in part by the City of Eugene.
