Panel OKs historic status for stadium.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

In a step toward recognition - but not protection - Eugene's 69-year-old Civic Stadium received an endorsement on Thursday to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eugene's Historic Review Board agreed with University of Oregon graduate student Natalie Perrin, who submitted the nomination, that the stadium meets criteria to qualify for the National Register.

"It's a wonderful structure that really has a lot of merit, coming from the 1930s and the circumstances that it was built," committee Chairwoman Karen Seidel said.

The endorsement is the first step to getting national historic recognition for Civic Stadium, which has been used continuously as a ballpark since 1938.

Yet the Depression-era stadium faces an uncertain future.

The designation would not prevent Civic, at 20th Avenue and Willamette Street, from being torn down. But under city code, the designation could restrict how the stadium might be renovated.

Civic's owner, the Eugene 4J School District, has declared the 10-acre site surplus, raising the possibility that it could be sold in the future.

The stadium needs renovation. The Eugene Emeralds minor league baseball team, which rents the ballpark, would like to see that happen.

The University of Oregon has decided to field a baseball team in 2009, but so far university officials have indicated little interest in using Civic.

The Historic Review Board made its recommendation over the objection of the school district, which asked members to postpone a decision until school officials could submit more information.

The stadium has "undeniable" historic value to Eugene, said 4J Facilities Director Jon Lauch.

But with the UO looking for a baseball stadium site, perhaps in partnership with the Emeralds, Lauch questioned the value of the historic designation for Civic if the Emeralds leave "and there is no one there to play baseball."

Still, residents who want the old ballpark to remain welcomed the review board recommendation. A National Register designation may give them more ammunition in their effort to preserve the ballpark.

"We want to keep this icon of baseball here in the city," said Dennis Hebert, of the grass-roots group Save Civic Stadium.

The Historic Review Board endorsement will be forwarded to the state Advisory Committee for Historic Preservation, which meets Oct. 16 in Roseburg. That panel will issue a recommendation to the Keeper of the National Register, based in Washington, D.C., who would make the final decision.

The National Register is an honorary designation that has been bestowed on more than 80,000 properties, areas or landmarks.

Under current federal state and local laws, the designation would not prevent Civic from being sold or razed.

"This designation alone will not protect Civic," said Hebert. "That is going to take public input and public action."

Civic, designed as a football and baseball stadium, was built in 1938, a collaboration among city and school district officials, business leaders and the Works Progress Administration.

Perrin, studying for a master's degree in historic preservation, researched Civic as part of a course assignment. She submitted the register nomination on her own.

Perrin nominated Civic for the National Register for its "community and Works Progress Administration" collaborations, and for its "architectural style."

Perrin, 29, told the Historic Review Board that Civic is the only Depression-era ballpark left in Oregon and one of two in the Northwest, and is the 10th-oldest minor league stadium in the country.

In her National Register application, Perrin wrote that Eugene architect Graham Smith designed the L-shaped wooden grandstand.

With its post-on-pier-supported Douglas fir grandstand and accompanying transverse hip truss roof, Civic is typical of stadiums built in the Depression-era Northwest, Perrin wrote.

"Stadiums of this type were built in conjunction with local organizations, such as the West Coast Lumberman's Association, throughout the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada," she said.

"Unfortunately, these beautiful wooden grandstands have fallen victim to progress and neglect, and many have been demolished to make room for more modern facilities."