UPDATED: 6 p.m.: Four boys suspected of igniting a fire that burned down Eugene's historic Civic Stadium last week face first-degree arson charges, among others, according to an official from the Lane County District Attorney's office.

Patty Perlow, a chief deputy at the office, said the boys will be charged with first-degree arson, second-degree arson, two counts of second-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree criminal mischief, reckless burning and reckless endangering.

Each of the boys has appeared for an initial hearing, Perlow said, and they are scheduled for a Sept. 1 fact-finding hearing -- which Perlow said is the juvenile court's version of a bench trial. The boys are on the docket for the same day and time, she said, but she was unsure whether they would appear together or separately.

Authorities last week said the boys would likely be charged with second-degree arson, but Perlow said the prosecutor handling the case has determined first-degree arson charges are warranted.

The boys were seen in the area of the historic stadium's press box before the fire, authorities said. Law enforcement officials received a tip about the fire's origin from a parent of a fifth boy who had been with the group in the stadium but left before the fire started, Steve Williams, a Eugene Police Department detective, said Thursday.

He said Thursday he didn't think the boys intended to light the entire structure on fire and that the fire was started using debris that was in the press box and a lighter. The boys attempted to extinguish the fire but were unsuccessful, he said.

Two of the 12-year-old boys were in custody as of Thursday, and a 10-year-old and another 12-year-old had not been taken into custody as of Thursday, Perlow said.

According to Oregon law, a person who commits first-degree arson in Oregon does so:

"By starting a fire or causing an explosion, the person intentionally damages" the following:

By knowingly engaging in the manufacture of methamphetamine, the person causes fire or causes an explosion that damages property described (above.)"

Civic Stadium was built in 1938 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was most recently home to the Eugene Emeralds, a minor league baseball team, in 2009.

A nonprofit called the Eugene Civic Alliance, formed by local Derek Johnson, purchased the property from the city for almost $4.1 million in April, Johnson said. Johnson said the city had purchased the property from the Eugene School District for $4.5 million earlier that day and retained a portion of the property for a small park and bike path.

The alliance planned to renovate the stadium to host soccer matches and other sports and build an adjacent fieldhouse that would be home to basketball and volleyball courts, Johnson said. Plans to build a stadium and fieldhouse are still in the works, he said.

Lane United Football Club, a semi-professional soccer team based in Eugene and Springfield that planned to play its home games at the remodeled stadium, still wants to eventually do so, the club's managing director said last week.

Johnson said he doesn't think the fire will delay the completion of the project, which he hopes to have finished within three to five years.

He said the alliance's board of directors met last week and is focused on moving the project forward. He said the alliance has started talking with architects about plans for the property and has a major fundraising push planned for the fall, as was going to be the case before the fire.

"People in the community recognize that this was a huge loss for people, but the memories are still there and the need for the community still there," he said.

-- Jim Ryan

503-221-8005