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Kidsports Volunteers Inscribe New Courts

Karen Richards

Past and present Kidsports coaches toured the new fieldhouse at 20th and Amazon in Eugene this week. They were invited to sign the cement foundation, where their names and words will remain under the courts’ wood flooring.

Credit Karen Richards
Coaches sign and write notes to players in and around lettering that says "all kids play."

The fieldhouse at Civic Park is airy, with lots of natural light. KidSports Executive Director Bev Smith watches as a couple dozen volunteer coaches admire the space and take Sharpie pens to the floor. “All that they do," she says, "we can’t repay with money because what they do is priceless, but we can repay them with gestures and opportunities to allow them to feel a part of this incredible building.”

Smith says the facility will host a variety of indoor sports for kids and the community. Upstairs, a spacious lounge overlooking the courts will include a long work table. To its north, a cantilevered conference room has views of the turf field. Both areas are rentable for meetings or watch parties. Smith says they’ll get the keys to the building May 21st and there will be a public grand opening the first weekend of June. 

 
Note: The turf field and future grandstands will be managed by Eugene Civic Alliance. The first event on the field is scheduled to be a Lane United soccer match May 22nd. More information on the facilities at Civic Park is here
 

Credit Karen Richards
Wooden court floor boards are ready to be installed over the next month inside the Kidsports fieldhouse.
Credit Karen Richards
From the conference room, you can make out the blue markings of where the pitcher's mound and bases of Civic Stadium used to be.

Karen Richards joined KLCC as a volunteer reporter in 2012, and became a freelance reporter at the station in 2015. In addition to news reporting, she’s contributed to several feature series for the station, earning multiple awards for her reporting.
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