Friends of Civic Stadium

“Civic" Pride”

Preserving and maintaining structures of a city's history is the legacy of those that came before and a framework for the young to learn from and build upon. It establishes the unique character for the place called "home." Eugene is clearly one of the truly unique American cities. Sadly, however, much of its architectural history has already been lost. Cities that maintained these structures are able to renovate, refurbish, and return historic infrastructure to an appealing modern vision of what once was. I lived most of my life in a city without this consciousness or soul. Any 20-year old building has the crosshairs of the wrecking ball upon it and dollar signs on the bare lot. Phoenix is void of a unique identity with no apparent sense of history or culture.

Its time for citizens of Springfield and Eugene to rise up to save Civic Stadium. Built in 1938 in conjunction with the Works Progress Administration, this multi-purpose facility must be returned to a modern day image of its historic past. Its current soul shines through to all that have spent a summer's evening at a ball game and calls out to everyone that is willing to listen. Given its needed attention, we would have the absolute best facility of its kind in the country. Something that literally would embody “Civic” pride.

John Arle