Under the latest timeline for the envisioned $772 million redevelopment of Neal S. Blaisdell Center, by this time next year, the city hopes to be forging final details with a private-sector partner tasked with design and construction, along with future operation and maintenance responsibilities.
Blaisdell would close in November 2020 for a massive makeover that will take about three years to complete. With that timeline in mind, the city is not lining up bookings for Blaisdell’s arena, exhibition area or concert hall beyond December 2020. That abeyance seems premature.
While there’s no doubt that the 22-acre complex, which opened in 1964, is looking dated, there are valid questions about whether support, timing and scope of redevelopment are on the mark. Such concerns have prompted City Council members Carol Fukunaga and Ann Kobayashi to call for re-evaluation of the plan’s viability and feasibility.
A resolution they co-introduced last week asserts that redevelopment efforts for Blaisdell and at Aloha Stadium’s 96-acre site involve construction or renovation of “facilities to accommodate and target similar events,” which could prompt competition that prevents a maxing out of revenue potential.
Plans for both venues have been taking shape for several years, and both hinge on hope of establishing viable private-public partnerships.
Momentum for creating a stadium entertainment district — complete with commercial and residential features as well as a rail station — picked up in July with Gov. David Ige signing off on legislation that appropriates $350 million for redevelopment.
That preliminary plan sensibly calls for a downsizing of the underutilized stadium to stage sports, concerts and family-oriented events. The Hawaii Community Development Authority and the Stadium Authority, the management arm of the 44-year-old “Rust Palace,” are leading the charge to construct a new facility rather than opt for a pricey repair route.
On Blaisdell’s front, the City Council has allocated slightly more than $12 million for demolition, which would complete about half of the proposed tear-down work. The master plan calls for replacement of the exhibition hall, parking garage, shops, sidewalks and landscaping.
The concert hall and arena, meanwhile, would undergo major renovations, with arena seating increasing. Add to that construction of a new performance hall and sports pavilion as well as garden walkways, water features and five restaurants or bars.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell is ready to charge forward, having asserted that the overhaul is needed to continue to attract high-quality events; and waiting will bump up the price tag. However, given city financial constraints — the rail project looms especially large — there are nagging questions about undertaking an endeavor that’s overly ambitious, beyond a prudent renovation of existing facilities, as proposed in a 2015 study.
Further, there’s a question of commitment by, and fairness to, future city leaders, who will pick up budget decisions. Blaisdell redevelopment is slated to ramp up next fall — just as Caldwell’s term taps out, along with terms for five of nine Council seats.
During a Council Parks, Community Services and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee meeting, Kobayashi said: “To burden the next administration with this cost, plus the cost of rail, plus the cost of all of the housing problems that we have and the homeless problems and the parks, the timing just doesn’t seem right.” It’s a compelling point.
The next mayoral administration and set of Council members should have a say in the shaping of Blaisdell’s future. Given the red flags tied to timing and scope, Honolulu Hale would be wise to hit the pause button and re-evaluate its master plan for the complex.
