The Aloha Stadium board room and stadium manager’s office are lined with pictures of celebrated University of Hawaii football players of the past and memorabilia items.
“We’re some of UH’s biggest fans,” stadium manager Scott Chan said.
Much of it is local pride — three ex-Rainbow Warriors also sit on the 11-member Stadium Authority — but there is a heaping helping of self- interest, too. “When UH does well, we all do well,” Chan said.
And, amid five consecutive losing seasons, when UH fortunes drop so, too, do those of the state’s largest sports venue.
Which is why officials at the 50,000-seat facility hope that Saturday’s home season opener against Tennessee Martin can be the start of a reversal from the biggest downturn in UH’s 41 years in residence in Halawa.
With UH’s average per game attendance down more than 50 percent from 33,835 in 2010 to 16,082 last season, Chan said the stadium has felt the tightening squeeze.
“Whenever a major client is struggling, we struggle, too. As we are self-sustaining, we rely heavily on the success of our clients, ” Chan said. “When they have a tough year, we do, too. But to go five seasons (without a winning record), well, that is a (prolonged) struggle.”
In the case of UH, whose turnout drives key revenue sources such as parking and concessions and impacts advertising, “the profit margin has been shrinking quite a bit. We’re close to the million-dollar mark in lost revenue,” Chan said.
There are also concerns about in-stadium signage. The field naming rights went from a five-year, $2.5 million deal (2011-15) to the recently-announced Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union Field at Aloha Stadium agreement worth $275,000 a year for three years.
The state requires Aloha Stadium to generate its own funding for salaries and operating funds, which is why fans attending Saturday’s opener will be paying $7 for parking, up from $5 last season, an increase that became effective in January.
The need to boost revenue in other areas was also a consideration in bringing back the swap meet on game-day Saturdays after a six-year absence. Former athletic director Jim Donovan had worked with the stadium to suspend game-day swap meets early in his tenure (2008-12).
But this year, “our financial situation and the opportunity to provide more days for our swap meet vendors” led to the change, Chan said. “It is one of the things we felt we had to look at.”
Plans call for the swap meet to be contained in one area and clear out at 1 p.m., before football fans enter that portion of the facility. “We’re streamlining some of the issues that we have dealt with before, so I’m confident that we can make it work and hold both events on the same day,” Chan said.
The stadium also has sought to expand sky box and club seating opportunities and made cuts in its part-time workforce.
When the home season opens Saturday, Aloha Stadium officials will be cheering on the ’Bows.
They just hope that this season brings them a lot of company.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
