HONOLULU (KHON2) — A week after the Aloha Stadium Authority unanimously agreed to allow for redevelopment contracts to begin demolition to Aloha Stadium and construction on its replacement with developer Aloha Halawa District Partners and Stanford Carr, more details about what the future of the project could look like are coming to light.
The new stadium is now scheduled to have a capacity of 22,500 seats, which Governor Josh Green says isn’t necessarily a final destination.
“22,500 seats is a start,” he said. “We think of that as kind of phase one. I’d like to get us up to 35 or 38,000 over time. Stanford is a great developer. We have incredible trust and history with him. So, what we’d hope is, and this is their plan, to go through phase one due to 22,500 seats, and then phase two as soon as there’s more money, to go to that larger 35-38,000 seat stadium.”
Another move in last week’s announcement was the date of opening back from the kickoff to the 2028 University of Hawaii football season to March of 2029.
“We are still talking about the possibilities of getting it ready for 2028,” Gov. Green added. “We want to be cautious about that. I don’t want to put too much pressure on them, but Stanford would like that to happen.”
More additions to the project can come through the private developer AHDP.
“So, he’s [Carr] bringing in some other investors. He’s been really working hard, as have I, to find another big partner so they can put in $300, $400, $500 extra million dollars and not just accelerate the project, but get it big enough so that we are a major Division I player,” Governor Green said.
Much has been made of the delays to this project, which was originally green lit in 2019, and pushed back by former Governor David Ige at the end of his term in 2022.
“The stadium should have been teed up many years ago and just approved,” Gov. Green said. “Because if you go, you don’t have the delays and the extra costs. So, what I’m trying to do is get our team super motivated to get this done. But any major state that wants to attract, you know, serious tourism, lots of travelers, concerts, football, maybe major league soccer, rugby. You have to have a good stadium, and so we will have one. We intend to start demolishing this current stadium, the Aloha Stadium, maybe even with a little fireworks show. I’m hearing from some of the guys just to celebrate progress and thank people this fall. So, we break down the stadium with some of the initial monies, we bring extra investors, and we build something special.”
