By Janis L. Magin
Real Estate Editor, Pacific Business News
September 9, 2019
The seating capacity of Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium would be reduced by 30% as a hotel,
residential units, retail and office space and other venues would be added to the 98-acre
campus, according to a document which presents three preliminary scenarios for the
redeveloped sports and entertainment complex.
The stadium would be downsized from its existing 50,000 seats to 35,000 seats in all three
preliminary options presented in an environmental impact statement preparation notice
published on Sunday in The Environmental Notice by the state Office of Environmental Quality
Control.
The state intends to redevelop the aging stadium and the land surrounding it through a public-private
partnership. Crawford Architects, the state’s master planning consultant, expects to have
the EIS done next summer. The state plans to choose a private developer through a request for
qualifications and request for proposals process, similar to what the City and County of Honolulu
is doing with its plan to redevelop the Neal S. Blaisdell Center under a public-private
partnership.
One option would leave the stadium in its existing location, but replace it with a new building
through an incremental redevelopment, while another would place a new stadium to the west of
the existing structure, allowing the old stadium to remain open while a new one is being built. A
third option would also allow the old stadium to remain operational while a new one is built to
the south.
The new stadium would be able to be reconfigured for different sports, including football, soccer
and rugby as well as hosting concerts and other community functions, according to the
preparation notice.
The rail transit station being built adjacent to the campus together, “with the lifting of federal and
city deed restrictions will create a unique opportunity to leverage the increased transit options
for stadium operations, and for transit-oriented development,” according to the document, which
was prepared by Wilson Okamoto Corp. for the state’s Aloha Stadium Authority and Crawford
Architects LLC.
“The proposed project presents opportunities at the project site for ancillary transit-oriented
development, which is situated in an optimal location next to the new Halawa/Aloha Stadium
Transit Station,” the EISPN said. “However, the proposed project will not result in development
at the Halawa/Aloha Stadium Transit Station, nor does it involve federal expenditures.”
Aloha Stadium is also located in one of 13 opportunity zones on Oahu, which could make it
attractive to investors.
The state last week launched a new website for the project, which it called the New Aloha
Stadium Entertainment District.
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