Thirteen years ago, the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation donated $5 million to help develop the previously named Cooke Field into a multi-purpose athletic complex on the University of Hawaii’s Lower Campus.

On Wednesday, the foundation donated $1.5 million toward a project to retrofit the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex to host UH football games this fall.

“They are once again making an ambitious project a reality,” UH athletics director David Matlin said in a release. “We are honored to receive this substantial gift at such a critical time for UH Manoa and our student-athletes.”

UH was forced to find a new site for its home football games after Aloha Stadium officials announced in December they no longer would allow fan attendance because of safety concerns related to the deterioration of the facility. Except for a game at Maui’s War Memorial Stadium in 2001, the Rainbow Warriors played their home games at Aloha Stadium since 1975.

After exploring several options, UH officials opted to play home games on campus until the new stadium in Halawa is built. It is estimated it will cost more than $8 million in upgrades to the Ching complex to host Division I games.

While much of the bill will be paid through school funds, a money-raising campaign was initiated to offset retrofit costs.

Jack Tsui, chairman of the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation, said 70% of its grants go to educational institutions. “This project is good for the university and for the student body and we are happy to be part of it,” Tsui said. “Clarence T.C. Ching and his children loved UH sports so we are continuing a legacy that started with him.”

Ching, a developer and philanthropist, died in 1985 at the age of 72.