Don’t cue the wrecking ball and bulldozers quite yet, but the big thorny obstacle blocking mixed-use redevelopment of Aloha Stadium is gone.

A federal agency that holds a deed restriction for much of the stadium’s Halawa site has given final approval to transferring the restriction to a state-owned park complex on Maui, resolving a problem that has long clouded visions for a new stadium integrated with housing, commercial attractions and a rail transit station.

The restriction prohibited anything but recreational use of the stadium property, which wouldn’t allow the state to partner with a private developer to add residential or commercial uses on part of the 100-acre site in return for financial help to rebuild the rusting and antiquated stadium.

“It’s an exciting time for the state of Hawaii,” said stadium manager Scott Chan. “It’s been a long journey. This gives us an opportunity to maximize the use of the property and hopefully redevelop it.”

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a Sept. 23 report that the National Park Service, on behalf of the U.S. secretary of the interior, recently gave its final approval to transfer the deed restriction from Aloha Stadium to the Central Maui Regional Sports Complex.

All that’s left is signing documents that now are in draft form. Then it’s a done deal, capping at least seven years of negotiations that at one point appeared to be at a dead end.

Craig Dalby, a Park Service spokesman, said the agency is working on completing the exchange.

The deed restriction exists because the city acquired 56 acres from the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1967 for development of the stadium, and agreed to forever limit use of the property to recreation. The city later transferred the land and accompanying restriction to the state.

Though there had been prior explorations of lifting the restriction, DLNR began its effort in 2009 and said the Park Service initially was willing to free up the stadium site for other uses as long as a similar restriction was placed on state land of the same value. DLNR said a number of parcels were identified and appraised, but no match could be found.

In 2013, the Stadium Authority, a state board overseeing stadium operations, urged the Park Service to reinterpret provisions governing the restriction that it believed would allow transferring the limitation to land of at least the same size but not value. A year later, the Park Service gave preliminary approval for such a deal applying to the planned 66-acre Maui sports complex.

The state acquired the Maui site in mid-2014 and two phases of the $22 million project mainly comprising baseball, softball and soccer fields are substantially done. A third phase is in progress and a final phase is in the bid process, DLNR said in its report.

In April, the city, which retained its own deed restriction on the stadium site, adopted a resolution to lift its provision limiting the site to recreational use. A document to record the release is in draft form and will need to be signed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Suzanne Case, chairwoman of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

A similar document is prepared for Case and Laura Joss, Pacific West regional director of the Park Service.

After documents are signed, the next step is to decide what to seek in a request for proposals from developers. A committee is being formed for this task, Chan said. Money from the Legislature next year will be sought to help with this effort, he added.

A lot of conceptual work has already been done, including a 2015 opportunity study that California-based real estate advisory firm Keyser Marston Associates Inc. prepared for the city and a 2014 stadium study that New York-based law firm Foley &Lardner LLP prepared for the state.

The Foley report said the deteriorating 50,000-seat stadium, which opened in 1975, needed more than $219 million in improvements, including about $120 million in work in the next five to 10 years just to keep the stadium safe and operational.

Foley recommended that a new stadium with 30,000 to 35,000 seats be built, and estimated the cost including premium seating options and other modern amenities could be between $132 million and $192 million. Such a new facility would reduce the state’s annual operating cost by $2.4 million to $3.2 million, the report added.

The Keyser Marston report looked at turning the 100-acre site into a “sports and entertainment district” with a new stadium, restaurants, retail, housing, and possibly hotel and office use.

“The key to ensuring long-term success of sports and entertainment districts is the ability to create a unique ‘experience’ through a critical mass of complementary uses,” the report said. “Today’s sophisticated consumers of entertainment, shopping, dining and sports are increasingly looking for a more multifaceted experience that is not easily replicated in more traditional single-use venues in the marketplace.”

Keyser Marston envisioned a high-density mix with 2 million square feet to 3 million square feet of new buildings including 1,500 to 2,000 homes and 75,000 square feet of restaurants and retail along with other sports and entertainment attractions that perhaps could replace Blaisdell Center.

Envisioned dense commercial and residential development could be limited to 23 acres, the report said. Other portions of the site could include a new stadium with 30,000 to 40,000 seats on 12 acres, 45 acres for parking and continued swap meet operations, a parking structure on 6 acres and a transit station with parking on 9 acres.

Chan said the state isn’t wed to any scenario and that he looks forward to producing a request for proposals. “There are many options here,” he said.