EUGENE, Ore. (KOIN) — Shortly before the fire began that engulfed and destroyed the historic Civic Stadium in Eugene Monday night, 3 to 4 teens were seen in the press box area of the stadium, officials said Tuesday.
Officials said they aren’t drawing any conclusions but would like to make contact with those individuals. Fire investigators remain at the scene of the stadium, built in 1938 but now just a smoldering ruin.
Joe Zaludek, the Deputy Chief of Eugene Springfield Fire, told KOIN 6 the area was still too hot to investigate thoroughly.
“We did not want to disrupt any evidence. We are very careful not to over- disrupt some of the material,” he said.
“We are directing all questions to the Eugene Police Department, but we are working with the arson unit,” he said.
Planning for the community facelift of Civic Stadium was well underway. Despite the total loss of the facility, the vision for the new youth athletic facility remains alive, organizers told KOIN 6 News.Reaction to the fire
Civic Stadium was more than an athletic facility. It was a community gathering place. Kids ran free here, Dollar Beer Night helped the Eugene Emeralds Class A baseball team fill the stands.
Now, it’s in ruins.
“We are kind of getting over our grieving and getting over our shock and we’re kind of rolling our sleeves up to figure out how to move it forward,” said Eugene City Councilman George Brown.
Dennis Hebert with the Friends of Civic Stadium said it didn’t matter the Emeralds had more losing seasons than winning ones. “People came over for the experience of Civic Stadium. The baseball was almost secondary to what was really going on here.”