Civic Stadium, beloved
by the people of Eugene, Oregon, USA, may not survive
much longer. This critically important gathering place
integrates the community and connects it to generations
of the past and, hopefully, the future. Built in 1938
as a WPA project for community athletic events, Civic
Stadium is on the National Register of Historic Places
for local and statewide significance and could be upgraded
to nationally significant as one of the last wooden grandstands
in the US. It is an impressive structure seating 7000
in the heart of south Eugene alongside the old neighborhood
of College Hill. It is one of the last places where people
of all ages can gather, meet and have fun in a relaxed
and secure setting for a low cost. Importantly, in 2009
Civic Stadium, a venerated focus of community recreation
in the heart of the city for three generations, lost its
main tenant, the Eugene Emeralds baseball club, and now
faces an uncertain future and maybe its demise. The Eugene
4J School District, the site owner, has declared the stadium
property to be “surplus property” that can
be disposed of at their discretion. The school district
does not have the funds to renovate Civic. A local community
group, Save Civic Stadium, is working hard to develop
a plan to save the stadium, but needs all the help it
can get. In a preliminary fund-raising phase, SCS has
raised (and spent) about $20,000 in community donations,
but the needed stadium renovation ultimately will cost
at least several million dollars. A $15,000 professional
study examining the potential future and uses of the stadium
began in April 2010 and the school district in May 2010
will make a key decision about its disposition.
ALI plans to produce a documentary film about Eugene’s
Civic Stadium and its place in the history and life of
the local community. This is critically important interpretation
and a permanent record of a highly significant and unique,
as well as threatened, heritage resource for the people
of Oregon and the world. Beyond its value in documenting
a valued part of the human cultural heritage, our film
is a sorely needed catalyst to bring people together to
protect and ensure the future of this threatened connection
with our past.
Film-making already has begun with the shooting of video
and still images capturing activities at baseball games
and after the baseball season at the stadium. With the
voluntary help of eleven different videographers and photographers
and a corps of volunteer support personnel and the assistance
of the Eugene Emeralds and Save Civic Stadium, 15-20 fresh
hours of video and hundreds of still images are ready
for editing together with a wealth of archival footage
and stills yet to be compiled. Scores of people, such
as long-time residents, former players, announcers, and
historians, are ready and available for interviews about
the place. Images and sounds from 2009 include many interviews
with fans, players, coaches, and owners as well as documentation
of the multiplicity of game-night sights and sounds in
every part of the stadium. Documentation includes never-before-revealed
inscriptions and graffiti from past decades on the walls
and benches within the locker rooms and the food-preparation
area.
Through the creative energy of ALI film maker Teal Greyhavens,
we will combine these elements with archival footage,
recordings and stills, interviews with those remembering
years gone by, images of other stadiums from other places
and times, and historical images of Eugene to tell a story
that puts the inanimate structure of the stadium into
a meaningful human context. Many information resources
are available, including the National Register nomination,
a book recently published about the stadium’s history,
the Eugene Emeralds baseball club, and archives of The
Register-Guard newspaper, the University of Oregon,
the Lane County Historical Museum, and local media companies.
We plan to produce a primary hour-long version of the
film for TV as well as a shorter version for the Web.
For us, this is a labor of love as well as a commitment
of our professional and technical skills to making a difference
for our community.
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