Meeting Date: December 5, 2014
Air Date: December 8, 2014
The Future of Civic Stadium
Guest Speakers: Derek Johnson, local attorney; Kari Westlund, President and CEO of Travel Lane County; and Bev Smith, Executive Director KidSports
Program Coordinator: Brittany Quick-Warner
City Club of Eugene welcomes Eugene Civic Alliance (ECA) to discuss the future of Civic Stadium. ECA hopes to find a bright future for Civic Stadium, including a KidSports headquarters, field house, soccer stadium, a park and green space, and a small commercial complex. Initially, the City set a December 1 deadline for a partner to raise $3 million to rehabilitate the stadium, for the City to pay $4.5 million to purchase the parcel. Reportedly, ECA had raised $2.25 million by September. Having reached that level, ECA decided to try to raise $4.5 million to purchase the stadium outright from the school district. They face a city deadline of January 16, 2015 and a March 1, 2015 school district deadline.
Derek Johnson, Kari Westlund, and Bev Smith will speak about ECA’s plan. Mr. Johnson, an attorney at Johnson, Johnson, and Schaller, has spearheaded fundraising efforts. Kari Westlund is the President and CEO of Travel Lane County. Bev Smith is the Executive Director of KidSports, which has more than 13,000 children participating in its programs every year.