It’s been one year today since a roaring fire leveled Eugene’s historic Civic Stadium.
The blaze was started by four boys, who faced charges of arson for the incident.
Even before the fire, a community group planned to repurpose the shuttered stadium. Derek Johnson of the Eugene Civic Alliance says they have been focused on the future.
“It didn’t even occur to us that this was the day the stadium burned down,” Johnson said.
The Alliance hired an architect and construction company to build a community recreation center on the site. The plan is to include historic elements of the old ball park.
Bev Smith, also fromthe Eugene Civic Alliance, says this center will be one of the first of its kind.
"We have many regional community centers throughout Eugene that are buildings that were constructed in the 1960s just to be a small home to community recreation in our different parks, zones and different neighborhoods. But nothing that is central, nothing that has capacity as this building will have in the both in the indoor space and the outdoor space,” Smith said.
The Alliance will release plans for the site in early August, and complete the center within a few years.
