There are as many thoughts about how, whether and where to build a replacement Aloha Stadium as people in its stands, at least in its heyday. Ideas are good, but in the end there has to be leadership to steer the raucous debate toward some kind of accord.

For years — decades, in fact — stakeholders in the redevelopment of a 98-acre site, anchored by Hawaii’s primary sports and entertainment venue, have waited. The essential component, collaboration and clear direction, has never materialized. State lawmakers bear some responsibility for all the shape-shifting and organizational shakeups, of course.

But what’s worse is that the state’s chief executive hung back rather than provide the crucial leadership months ago when it could have been much more effective. Instead his intervention comes at the last possible moment, upending substantial planning and contract discussions.

Gov. David Ige is expected to announce the full new plan this week — three weeks after abruptly calling for “a different direction” — but this process shows yet again how chaotic the business climate in Hawaii can be. That’s the last thing the state should be communicating. In the end it will rest with the next administration to show the clarity of thinking and action that has been lacking.

And it’s impossible to gauge Ige’s plan sight unseen. Can the vision for that property, including the stadium and 73 acres of real estate, be sharpened? Can there be a right-sized mix of affordable housing, along with retail and other community amenities?

The overarching concern now is whether the stadium can be built within a reasonable time while fulfilling its multiple purposes as a sports arena as well as a full-featured concert and events venue.

If so, it’s well worth discussion. There is mounting concern that the spotlight on completing the replacement stadium at Halawa has dimmed. For such a consequential project and site, Ige so far has only foreshadowed the change of direction he favors.

In his commentary published in today’s Insight section (Page E1), the governor points to the Legislature’s decision this year to put the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism in charge. That could more easily enable involvement of the department’s Hawaii Housing, Finance and Development Corp. in the housing element, which could be key.

And legislators’ appropriation this session of $400 million for the project, in construction and operational costs, could allow the state to use a simpler design-build contract for the stadium; plans for the mixed-use development could follow.

But who can feel confident in either, divergent path?

Ige’s timing didn’t help boost that confidence. Though absent plan details, the governor called for a sudden halt to the process that had been underway in recent years, which was nearing requests for proposals on the redevelopment.

This stunned the principals in the project, the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED), which had been on the brink of the RFP being issued. They insist that the public-private partnership and the commercial and entertainment complex they envision provide the best foundation for a sustainable development.

The final deal via their process, they say, could be shaped to ensure a reliable funding source for long-term maintenance of the replacement stadium. That’s no small matter; it’s something the current rusting stadium, now awaiting demolition, never had.

The public is anxious to hear details of the governor’s proposal, but there could have been a more well-formed plan if Ige had convened a wider conversation.

He could have reached out sooner to NASED, including members of the Stadium Authority board and officials of the Department of Accounting and General Services, as well as consultants.

“It was really not something we had anticipated, primarily because we had looked at all the procurement technologies,” said Chris Kinimaka, DAGS’ public works administrator, one of several DAGS representatives who met last week with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser editorial board. “We had looked at design-build, and design-build-finance-maintain, and even design-bid-build, from the original type of bids that you would do.”

There also is state interagency disagreement over how to interpret the wording of the Legislature’s latest funding allocation — a kind of who’s-in-charge moment — as well as a parting of the ways over the right way to proceed.

The public is worried, and rightly so, over whether NASED leaders can deliver what they’re describing: separate but linked contracts for the stadium and the surrounding real estate that would be relied upon to keep things afloat. Achieving such a major feat has not been in the wheelhouse of any of the agencies now involved.

When Ige has his big reveal, it had better address the crucial issue of stadium maintenance. There are other ways to create a dedicated fund for that. One would be to assess a stadium impact fee on developers and businesses that want to be part of a more lively, livable multifaceted community.

And it must describe a stadium equal to the task. This well-run future arena also should be able to host high-tech concerts and spectacles. That’s what’s expected of the state’s largest sports and performance showplace.