The dream is to start a short-and-wide clothing line, ya know, for normal-shaped, middle-aged Hawaii guys.
Bigger-is-better inspiration came from three heavily debated construction projects.
In 1960, approval was granted to build what would become H-3. After years and years of protests, particularly from the late 1970s through the mid-’80s, the project pushed forward while enraging environmentalists and cultural preservationists. It opened in 1997 as a construction marvel with breathtaking views, 60-mph limits, control-center alerts, and a tunnel that did not garble radio broadcasts. But years later, the two-lanes-each-direction highway is too narrow. Thirty-seven years of arguments failed to envision that populations and usage grow. A third lane should have been built. Now, a fender-bender or light bulb-changing work in the tunnels can jam traffic flow for a couple miles.
For more than a decade, the University of Hawaii fostered a dream of building an on-campus arena, where volleyball matches would be freed from sweltering Klum Gym, and basketball players would not have to navigate warped spots on the Blaisdell Arena’s portable floor. A veteran volleyball coach and a rising lawmaker lobbied for a 4,000-seat facility; athletic director Stan Sheriff and basketball coach Riley Wallace fought for 12,000 seats. The grudging compromise was a 10,000-seat arena initially named the Special Events Center.
And the much-derided rail, while needed to ease Westside-bound congestion, has many flaws beyond the growing price tag. It is a rail line, when Oahu could use a rail system of many arteries that reach across the Koolau Range and other routes.
The lesson: Hawaii planners too often build for today’s requirements instead of envisioning future needs.
All of which leads to the dual dilemma of the Ching Complex on the UH campus and the property where Aloha Stadium rusts in peace. A year ago, Aloha Stadium officials said the Halawa facility could no longer serve as host to spectators because of structural-safety concerns. The major tenant — the UH football program — was forced to relocate its six 2021 home games to the Ching Complex, which was retrofitted to seat 9,000. It is supposed to be a temporary fix until a joint private-public stadium is built on the Aloha Stadium site.
But the new stadium, which initially was supposed to be ready for the 2023 season, will not be completed until … well, um …
Aloha Stadium is now set for demolition in 2023, maybe. But there already are suggestions, notably from three former governors, that the money and site should be used for other things, such as affordable housing. The problem is the Band-Aid that is Ching Complex needs to be changed correspondingly.
Using the promise of a new stadium as collateral, UH was able to receive an exemption to the NCAA rule requiring an average attendance of 15,000 once every two years for a program to maintain its FBS status. But now there appears to be quiet opposition to doubling Ching’s seating capacity, to 18,000, for the 2022 season. Critics note UH distributed 6,239 and 6,575 tickets for two home games in which full capacities were allowed. Why ask for seconds when you did not eat all the food on your plate?
But, again, UH must not be held to this year’s situation to plan for the future. There were too many factors that clouded a true portrait of interest in the football program this season. Pandemic-related restrictions prevented UH from allowing fans into their first three home games. There were 1,000 allowed for the fourth game. By the time the full capacity of 9,000 was allowed for the Oct. 23 rematch against New Mexico State, many fans already had either subscribed to pay-per-view packages or were out of the habit of attending games. Or they did not care anymore.
With the season-ticket money refunded, donated or rolled into next year, UH started ticket sales from zero. But past season-ticket holders were limited to two ducats each, even those who used to bring 11 guests. And without tailgating and concessions other than bottled water, attendance suffered.
With the assumption the pandemic eventually will ease by the middle of next year, the demand for tickets also should increase. And with the new Halawa stadium’s future still iffy, it is time for the Ching Complex to expand to at least 30,000. UH can live with empty seats, but it would be a shame if it did not have enough seats.
Yes, there are more important needs. Yes, there are workers that need to be paid more, roads that need to be paved, and homeless that need to be sheltered. But it should not be a UH-versus-others situation. There is nothing preventing lawmakers from giving deserving raises to teachers, such as Griffin Bolan of Waianae High, Jed Uson of Mililani High or Lucy Forbes of Farrington High. Football enriches UH’s overall experience, generates revenue for businesses, and provides unity and entertainment in a state that needs unity and entertainment.
UH needs to look to the future. It needs to increase Ching’s capacity to 30,000.
