HONOLULU (KHON2) — The team behind the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) confirmed it is delaying its internal deadline to finalize a key agreement with its private development partner.
Negotiations with developer Aloha Halawa District Partners (AHDP) were initially expected to wrap by June 30. That timeline has now been extended by about six weeks, with a new target set for mid-August.
“It’s not just building a stadium and it’s not just building a development — it’s building the two different things both at the same time,” said Brennon Morioka, chair of the Stadium Authority Board. “And so the contract is also a very complicated document. It’s multiple different agreements, so anytime that we make one change to one agreement, it then impacts the other agreements as well.”
The NASED project aims to deliver not just a new stadium but a full-scale “live-work-play-thrive” district featuring housing, retail, and integration with Honolulu’s Skyline rail system.
While details of the development agreement remain confidential, officials say the delay will not affect one of the most anticipated milestones: the demolition of the aging Aloha Stadium.
If permits are approved by the end of July, demolition is expected to begin by mid-August. The public can expect to see construction fencing go up first, followed by the arrival of large cranes.
“It’s going to be about 10 months to take the stadium down,” Morioka said. “So we are hoping that by early summer next year, we’re going to have a new canvas that we’re going to be able to look at building the new stadium.”
Although six weeks may seem like a minor adjustment, the word “delay” is familiar to the project. A previous stadium plan, which targeted a 2023 opening, was pushed back due to legislative hurdles and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current goal remains to complete the new stadium in time for the 2028 University of Hawaiʻi football season.
“We know the community is as eager as we are to see the much-anticipated project underway,” AHDP lead developer Stanford Carr said in a statement. “We’re grateful for everyone’s patience and are looking forward to celebrating the announcement together very soon.”