The City of Eugene announced Friday it will move forward to buy Civic Stadium from the 4-J School District and sell it to a non-profit group committed to its restoration. According to the city manager’s office, Eugene Civic Alliance met the deadline to provide “assurances” that the $4.1 million dollars needed to purchase the defunct stadium has been raised.
7-year old Leo Rickard, a first grader at The Village School, represented the generosity required by many when he presented his donation of 84 dollars to the cause.
Alliance member and Kids Sports Executive Director Bev Smith explains what the facility will mean for youth:
Smith: “Well, I think this really a day for our kids and our community to really celebrate because there is opportunity there to have access to not only a field house, but a soccer field and a stadium that a lot of our current residents grew up with.”
The city has informed 4-J the purchase will commence sometime in March or April. Under an agreement, the City will contribute 412-thousand dollars for a 25,000 square foot pocket park on the west side of the stadium. Civic Stadium is entered in the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only 12 wooden ball parks in the nation.
Some of the donors include:
Eugene Emeralds
Market of Choice
Oregon Community Foundation Advised Funds, including The Coughlin Family Fund, McKenzie Oaks Ranch Fund
Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture and Planning
Jon and Terri Anderson
Greg Ausland, Principal, The Ausland Group
Dean Hansen
Art Johnson
Derek Johnson & Lynnette Williams
Jim and Ginevra Ralph
Bev Smith
Jenny Ulum and Tim Gleason
Jim Watson & Friends of Civic Stadium
Nancy, Bill, Jake and Maya Webber
Linda & Steve Wheatley
copyright, 2015 KLCC
