Newest Stadium Authority members know place well

When the two newest members of the Aloha Stadium Authority rose to be sworn in this week, chairman Charles Toguchi quipped they were his linemen, "here to protect me."

Mike Iosua and Ross Yamasaki were, indeed, University of Hawaii football players once upon a time. 

Iosua, 36, played on the defensive line (1998-2001) and Yamasaki, 46, was a linebacker (1985-89).

But while they still appeared capable of affording the chairman considerable protection should the debate over the stadium’s future get particularly heated, it was hardly the only quality they bring to the group.

In addition to having played in Aloha Stadium in better times — when the turnouts actually fit the definition of "crowds" so that the place shook from exuberance, not age — they have since acquired other skills. Iosua is an attorney and Yamasaki is an architect, two forms of expertise that should come in handy as the authority plows ahead in deciding the fate of the rusting stadium.

As they sat under framed pictures of some past UH greats and ex-teammates that line the board room, there were reminders that Iosua and Yamasaki have some equity in the state’s largest entertainment facility from their playing days. 

Yamasaki in particular, having played there in Pop Warner, high school (Castle) and UH while holding youthful memories of growing up a block away from old Honolulu Stadium.

A holdover member, Scot Long, played at Aloha Stadium with Kaiser in the facility’s inaugural 1975 season, and vice chair Keith "Kika" Bukoski’s son, Duke, currently plays for UH.

Those backgrounds are important as the decisions about what to do with the 104 acres in Halawa and the edifice that sits atop it go forward. In past decades you got the feeling that too many decisions concerning the place were made — at higher levels especially — where there was little connection with the place or its mission. Too often the sport most being played was political football, and it showed. 

The current eight-member, uncompensated group — a ninth is to be added — is an eclectic gathering. It includes a former legislator (Toguchi),  a planning and environmental consultant (Wilbert Chee), educators (Edward Hasegawa and Odetta Fujimori) and a union figure (Long).

"I’m very happy about the timing of the latest appointments because they add a lot," Toguchi said.

Good thing, because a lot will be demanded of this authority. What it has ahead of it, if the scope laid out in its contracts holds true, is a long process with some tough decisions about not only the future of Aloha Stadium but what might rise in its place, be it in Halawa or elsewhere. The stadium has served the state for going on 40 years now and its successor will be expected to fill the bill for the next half century. 

On ground where Yamasaki and Iosua each were part of milestone UH teams, they now have an opportunity to contribute to leaving a bigger mark.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.