HOQUIAM, Wash. — Hoquiam’s Olympic Stadium, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, almost became history Thursday.
Several small fires burned sections of the lower grandstand Thursday morning.
“We’re labeling it suspicious in nature,” said Hoquiam Police Chief Joe Strong.
Strong said no suspects have been arrested or identified.
Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Thursday someone called 911 to report flames coming from the stadium.
Strong said officers were at the stadium within four minutes and firefighters arrived seven minutes after the call. Hoquiam Fire Chief Matt Miller said firefighters were able to put the fires out before they spread to the bleachers or the rafters.
He said it was a close call.
The stadium was built in 1938 as a part of the federal effort to employ people during the Depression. It has hosted countless high school sporting events, music festivals, car shows, a circus and the annual Logger’s Playday.
Actor Bill Murray once played for the minor league baseball in the stadium for the Grays Harbor Loggers in 1978.
Longtime Hoquiam High School assistant football coach Ed Dawson said losing the stadium would have been devastating to the community.
“It’s a special place,” said Dawson, who started coaching and teaching in Hoquiam in 1971.
“When people from out of town come in, especially kids from out of town,” said Dawson, “They walk in and go, ‘This is really cool.’ They’ve never seen anything quite like that.”
The fire cleanup comes in the midst of a $1.5 million renovation to try to preserve the stadium for future generations.
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