New Aloha Stadium finish date unchanged, planner says

The requests for proposals for construction of the new Aloha Stadium won’t be out by the end of this month as previously expected, but that in itself won’t change the project’s completion date, a key state planner said Thursday.

“We could meet that deadline if we’d sequestered everyone in a room for a week, but that’s not realistic,” said Chris Kinimaka, public works administrator for the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

“We haven’t lost sight of 2027” for the stadium’s completion, she added.

Gov. Josh Green, who was elected in November, has been “very decisive” about getting the stadium’s private- public partnership plan going again, Kinimaka said.

That has meant extensive meetings with several newly appointed department heads, as well as other representatives from five state agencies.

“My understanding is there are a few things on some of the financials that need clarity, but we are moving forward and we are being assured of that,” Stadium Authority board member Michael Yadao said. “I’m inclined to believe it because of the overall attitude. It’s not how to oppose. It’s ‘We want to approve it, but it’s better to ask questions now than six months from now.’”

Some questions are about how much new housing the existing infrastructure can accommodate.

Others have to do with government bond finances, Kinimaka said.

“They are technical issues, like how interest is handled,” she said.

The Legislature in 2022 approved $400 million of public funding to build the new stadium. David Ige, who was then governor, previously said he supported the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District project, which included private development in the area around the stadium’s Halawa location.

In September, though, Ige changed course to a stand-alone stadium. This was after two years and $20 million in preparation work for NASED. Around $13 million worth of that work would not have been transferable from the NASED planning, Kinimaka said Thursday.

Green said last summer he would support NASED if elected, but only if affordable housing was prioritized. He also said he would insist that RFPs be expedited and that his administration would not tolerate delays.

“(New) directors and key members of their departments are fully engaged,” Kinimaka said. “But there’s a steep learning curve.”

Even with RFPs going out later than planned, contracts for the stadium and the first real estate projects still can be signed by January 2024. That is part of the timeline Kinimaka cited in December after meeting with Green and the stadium board.

“We’re trying to make sure we have as many safeguards in the RFPs to protect the state and to be fair to the proposers,” Kinimaka said Thursday.

In other news from Thursday’s Stadium Authority meeting:

>> The transfer of the Aloha Stadium scoreboard to Ching field at the University of Hawaii is expected to happen in May, after grandstands are installed in April as part of UH’s $30 million improvement to the Warriors’ temporary home field.

The scoreboard will be placed above the end zone on the side of the field next to Murakami Stadium.

“Everyone will be able to see one of the two scoreboards,” UH athletic director David Matlin said. “It will help with recruiting.”

>> The Aloha From Aloha Stadium Closing Activities event scheduled for Feb. 25 was announced. Go to alohastadium.hawaii.gov for details.