Ready, set … go?
Save-the-year notices have gone out for 2028 for the Los Angeles Olympics, another presidential election, and — cross the fingers and hope to spit — the opening of the new Aloha Stadium.
The latter remains on track after the lone bidder, Aloha Halawa District Partners, submitted a proposal on July 31 to raze Aloha Stadium, build a replacement, and develop an entertainment district that also will include residential housing.
The thing is, it was a theoretical bid. Now comes the practical part, where tests will be needed to ensure the project can be accomplished, especially demolishing and building a new stadium for the $350 million the state is willing to contribute to the facility portion.
The unlikely good news for University of Hawaii football fans is Aloha Stadium, which was self-condemned for spectator-attended events beginning in December 2020, remains standing. The facility is marking the spot, like a cat’s urine, and serves as a reminder the Halawa site is foremost for a stadium and not other projects.
But UH, which had been Aloha Stadium’s primary tenant for 44 years, also needs to continually nudge the new project forward. As long as there are swap meets, concerts and fairs in the stadium parking lot, there does not appear to be an urgency to meet the 2028 deadline.
In recruiting, there’s a tactic known as “stimulating the action” in which an on-the-fence prospect is prodded to make a decision. Maybe it will work and probably it won’t, but to move Aloha Stadium officials out of the comfort zone, here are three ways for UH to stimulate the action:
1. Hold on-campus concerts benefiting the athletic department or other UH programs.
There are supposed to be non-compete restrictions with the City-run Blaisdell Center. But UH always has found loopholes.
Christina Aguilera performed at UH’s Stan Sheriff Center in October 2000. In 2012, UH cleared the way for a Stevie Wonder concert on campus. But the “promoter” scammed UH — the musician was never notified — and the concert did not materialize. Burned by the “Wonder Blunder,” UH officials could not finalize a deal for Roosevelt High alumnus Bruno Mars to perform at the Stan Sheriff Center in 2014. Fool me once … and all that. Promoter Tom Moffatt then signed Mars to perform three concerts at the Blaisdell Arena that year. In 2018, Mars returned to play to three sellouts at Aloha Stadium.
UH can offer better accommodations for on-campus concerts than Aloha Stadium’s parking lot. And there are many options, from intimate (Campus Center Ballroom) to Waikiki Shell-like (Andrews Amphitheater) to the Sheriff Center.
While Taylor Swift is out of UH’s league, my 8-year-old granddaughter suggests Olivia Rodrigo for a concert at the Sheriff Center.
2. Start a swap meet and marketplace on the Manoa campus.
Of course, that’s a ripoff of Aloha Stadium’s staples. Or is it clever interpolation, as they say in the music business? Either way, here’s plenty of room, plenty of parking, plenty of shade on the Manoa campus. We already know from East-West Center Road that UH has strong ties with food trucks.
And to help their name-image-likeness brand, student-athletes can sign autographs or pose for pictures. For a donation, of course.
3. Have theme nights on campus.
For Halloween, there are a couple options for haunted houses. Sinclair Library’s basement can be scarier than Morgan’s Corner. And for years, fashion design and merchandising students claimed Miller Hall is spooky at night. “That old man with the green hair you just saw in the hallway? There was a man like that but he died 20 years ago …”
Easter egg hunt? The perfect spot is the big lawn fronting Hawaii Hall.
The bottom line is the bottom line. UH needs to show that it, too, can profit despite a shuttered Aloha Stadium.
