While others upgrade their venues, Aloha Stadium sits and rusts

Outside the Davis Family ownership, perhaps the most jubilant person about the Oakland Raiders’ impending move to Las Vegas is Tony Sanchez.

Small wonder since Sanchez is the University of Nevada-Las Vegas head football coach and his team will get to ditch the metal erector-set bleachers of wind-blown Boyd Stadium and take up residence in the palatial $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat home that is to be built for the Raiders near McCarran International Airport by 2020.

“Sharing a state-of-the-art stadium with the Raiders is another thing that will allow us to recruit at a high level,” Sanchez crowed in a statement. “The combination of an NFL stadium and our upcoming Fertitta Football Complex brings so much energy to this program and campus.”

While the Vegas edifice is, far and away, the biggest luxury item in the Mountain West Conference’s escalating building boom, it is hardly the only new stadium or set of renovations undertaken.

Colorado State debuts a 41,200-seat, $220 million on-campus stadium in September. Fresno State has an architect working on renovations to be completed for its 2019 opener. San Jose State is raising money for a $38.5 million Vermeil-Walsh Complex and Wyoming has $44 million in improvements underway in its north end. Now that the Chargers have bolted for Los Angeles and Qualcomm Stadium is marked for the wrecking ball, San Diego State expects to have — or share — a new stadium around 2020.

And last year Utah State unveiled $36 million in renovations to its re-christened Maverik Stadium.

All the while, you might be wondering what will happen out in Halawa. And you would not be alone.

Aloha Stadium is … well, it is still rusting in place, awaiting the overdue decision on its fate.

The approaching season will mark the stadium’s 43rd year of use and there is still no definitive word on whether the state will continue to pour millions of bucks into basic health and safety repairs just to keep it upright and operational — or invest in a new facility.

The appointed, volunteer Stadium Authority earlier this year issued a recommendation that a new 30,000-35,000-seat stadium, expandable to 40,000 for special events, be built next to the current facility to take advantage of the coming of rail and the prospect of selling ancillary rights.

It is, however, only an advisory opinion and dependent on the backing of the governor and legislature for action and funding.

So, the two questions that have hung over the stadium for years still remain: Is there a collective political will? And, what about the resources?

UH is one of just two schools in the MWC that does not currently own or operate the stadium where its football team plays, so it has little direct say in what eventually will happen to Aloha Stadium.

Not that Rainbow Warriors head coach Nick Rolovich is without heartfelt opinions on the subject. But Rolovich also understands two key truths of a man in his position: There are any number of competing needs in the state and a coach just one season into his tenure can achieve more by deeds than words.

“We’ve always been a little unique … we have different characteristics that (impact) the way we grow,” Rolovich said. “If we can do something similar — or better — to what we did last year (on the field) for next season, I think we can start to see what kind of (changes) can be made.”

Meanwhile, Aloha Stadium waits. And rusts.

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