Game-changing legislation this year provided clarity and compelled us to rethink how we are going to construct a new stadium at the Aloha Stadium site. In separate measures, the state Legislature shifted the administrative responsibility for the project, and for the first time, allocated sufficient public funds to complete the stadium. The commercial entertainment district that had been contemplated was not funded.

Together, the structural changes and character of the funding made it crystal clear: A change in direction was required. I agreed that a streamlined approach would be the fastest way to build a new stadium. I adjusted the planning process to assess the new landscape and chart the best path forward.

Structurally, the Legislature directed that the responsibility for the stadium rest with the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which now also houses the Stadium Authority. The state’s two real-estate development agencies — the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) and the Hawaii Community Development Authority — are also administratively attached to this department, as is the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development. This move centralizes the state’s land development expertise and more efficiently uses its limited financial resources and personnel.

On the financing side, the $350 million of general obligation bond funds to plan, design and construct a new stadium in Halawa allows us to build the stadium as quickly and simply as possible. A straightforward design/build approach will be far simpler than negotiating a public- private partnership to design/build/finance/maintain for the entertainment district, a move that would still require the state to provide potentially tens of millions of dollars in availability payments or subsidies to the developers for many years.

We are not starting from scratch. We will build the best possible stadium for $350 million at the current stadium location to minimize infrastructure costs. We will build on the environmental and planning work already completed. Last month I accepted the final environmental impact statement for the project, which contains the necessary analysis of options and identification of mitigation measures to move the new stadium forward.

I have not given up on the larger vision of providing new housing and other activities on the site, but we must live within our means and within the current constraints of the site.

Statewide, the lack of adequate infrastructure remains the biggest roadblock to developing more homes. This is certainly true of the Aloha Stadium site where the existing infrastructure, specifically water and wastewater, cannot support much-needed housing. I fully support a coordinated and accelerated effort to build out the needed infrastructure to develop homes in this prime location.

In addition to infrastructure, the envisioned housing and other aspects of the entertainment district would require the creation of a master plan and sub-division of the parcels, and these actions take time. Our focus right now must be on building the stadium with the general obligation bond funds provided by the Legislature.

For more than four decades, milestones were celebrated, and treasured memories made at Aloha Stadium for many Hawaii residents and visitors. Those days are gone, but I know how important a stadium is for the community, especially for Hawaii’s high school and collegiate football programs.

All the pieces are in place for a new stadium at the Aloha Stadium site. We are ready to move forward, and I’m committed to completing the new stadium as quickly as possible.

David Y. Ige is governor of the state of Hawaii.