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5"'1(o-Q city has backed down to let us do • this. " °ti � unci Riley said many neighbors are a � " " - °v im eager to work with the city to re- store the site — an open field north of the Solstice Bakery building at , '',, ', , ., * ,.. ,„„ 645 River Road — into a more clear- ' says n ly defined riverfront park. The tract 4 , hugs the west bank of the Willamette x �;. �� River. r ';;. "s ' Mayor Ruth Bascom said she be- :r1:: : t 1 t o ar e n a lieves residents overstated the effect : t - .�, that a soccer arena would have had ) - 4 , on Rasor Park. "But when you get . , this outpouring of opposition, you in have to respect it and listen to it, " p she said. Last month, the city Planning , Commission upheld on technical 1 M ,, • Land use: The indoor grounds a hearing official's decision Mayor Ruth Bascom soccer facility will be to issue a Willamette Greenway per- Y mit for the soccer facility. But in an "You have to respect it" located at the county unprecedented action, the commis - fairgrounds, instead. sion wrote a letter urging the council nomic levels. to nonetheless abandon its plans to Councilman Shawn Boles voted build at Rasor Park. against pursuing the fairgrounds By JEFF WRIGHT Planning commissioners said the site. He said the proposal ignores the The Register -Guard city needs to preserve what little fairgrounds' master plan and that he In what most everyone celebrat- open space it owns and that the Riv- favors building a soccer arena at the er Road -Santa Clara area suffers new juvenile justice campus on Cen- ed as a winning goal, the the Eugene gene from a tremendous shortage of park tennial Boulevard. land. The use of a temporary arena opposition Wednesday and voted not River Road residents, who for will allow the ci ty to test the waters to build an indoor soccer arena at years have resisted the city's efforts before committing undeveloped Rasor Park on River to annex the area, would only grow structure, said Jim Johnson, permanent rec- Road. ted, the city more distrustful if the city tried to reation services director. "But we the Instead, d, th ty Fair ty will will work with Board to mods- build a soccer facility over strong think we can fill it up from 4 p.m. to fy an existing exposition building for neighborhood objections, the com- midnight every day," he said. soccer on a temporary basis, with an mis Co n said. e toward eventually builds a Counccil il members got the mes- Council members praised the eye y ng sage, voting 8-0 to abandon the Ra- Fair Board for being willing to ex- new indoor soccer facility at the sor Park site. plore ways to expand recreational fairgrounds on West 13th Avenue. The council decided instead to activities for young people. The The decision means River Road explore locating a temporary soccer board and KidSports are looking at residents will drop plans to chal- arena at Expo Hall No. 5, near the renovating another exposition hall at Ienge the city before the state Land Lane County Ice building at the fair- the fairgrounds for use as a practice Use Board of Appeals or in the grounds. The city will spend up to for basketball. courts. ;90,000 to adapt the building for The city's own feasibility study Just as important, the decision soccer. - ranks the fairgrounds as a more de- may open the way for two groups The council also voted to negoti- sirable site than Rasor Park for in- with a history of distrust — River ate with the Fair Board about the door soccer. But city officials initial - Road residents and the city — to possibility of building a permanent ly hoped to build on a site it already work together to protect and en soccer arena somewhere on the fair- owns, rather than face the extra cost hance Rasor Park, said Becky Riley, grounds. of leasing property at the fair - chairwoman of Friends of Rasor Jefferson Area Neighbors have grounds. Park. said they support soccer at the fair- A private developer, meanwhile, "A good thing has happened to grounds so long as it doesn't create is pursuing plans to build a private our community because of this — new traffic or parking problems and indoor soccer arena in east Spring - people found out how many of their is open to people of all ages and eco- field. neighbors felt the same way they did" about the park, Riley said. "The energy is still there to do something nice with the site. We're grateful the Turn to PARK, Page 4A