The Aloha Stadium project has not been without drama — and a lot of it. It was shuttered in 2020, years before the Honolulu rail pulled into the station.
The University of Hawaiʻi scrambled for a new football field and high school football players wondered what happened. And then there was a push-pull over whether to do a public-private partnership and construct dense high-rise towers.
Lawmakers and Gov. Josh Green finally gave the nod to put out for bid the creation of an entertainment center — a venue for sports and concerts and housing and maybe even a hotel someday.
Two development teams were in the running for the project, and then, all of a sudden, one dropped out in June. Waiola Development Partners said no thanks, leaving Aloha Halawa District Partners as the last group standing.
"Their letter said that they did not believe that they could fulfill the requirements of the project to the level of standards or quality that they're normally used to holding upon themselves," said Brennon Morioka, the Stadium Authority chair.
He said the Stadium Authority is awaiting an opinion from the state attorney general's office on whether the authority can debrief with Waiola Development Partners to learn more about their decision to withdraw.
"Because we are in active procurement, we're not sure exactly if we are able to engage with WDP now that they've withdrawn," he added.
"The benefit of actually not having a second proposer is it actually allows us to have more meaningful in-depth and detailed conversations with the final proposer," Morioka said. "We do think that we're going to end up getting a better proposal from them at the end when their proposals are due to us July 31."
He said the minimum requirements for the new stadium contract included no fewer than 25,000 seats, a certain number of luxury suites, and the ability to accommodate concerts.
"The state only committed to $350 million to the stadium, and we know, based on what our requirements are, it's going to cost way more than that. Our estimate right now is about $425 million to $450 million to build the stadium that we are demanding as a part of this contract," Morioka said.
He said the chosen developer will also contribute to the construction costs, meaning the group will have a vested interest in finishing the project — and quickly.
"They have a lot of skin in the game, which is also why we had to include the surrounding development into the project, because they needed a source of revenue to generate, to pay for the investment that they're making up front," he said.
"We're very optimistic that this project is going to be moving forward and moving forward fairly rapidly once we get under contract, which is scheduled for June of 2025," Morioka told HPR.
Moriokoa was previously with Hawaiian Electric Company’s Transportation Electrification Division and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. He once served as state transportation director.
He spoke to The Conversation about the new stadium's infrastructure needs, such as water, electricity, sewage treatment and more.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 9, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
