Ige’s veto could delay stadium plan even further

Earlier this year, when the timeline for the building of a replacement for aging Aloha Stadium was projected at “five to seven years,” some people wondered: Why so long?

Others of us, long familiar with state projects, however, were instantly skeptical it could be that soon.

Now here we are just a matter of months into the process and Gov. David Ige’s intention to veto House Bill 627 is already threatening to push things back.

The bill, which would create the Office of Public-Private Partnerships within the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, was supposed to be part of a bold statement about changing the way the state does some of its business and Aloha Stadium was seen as a showcase example.

The OPPP is supposed to help facilitate a partnership between the state and private developers, who would lease land for commercial purposes, thereby lessening the cost of building the new facility.

“We need to reinvent the way government does capital improvement projects; we cannot have rail 2.0,” state Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi, Salt Lake), a strong proponent, wrote in an email to the Star-Advertiser. “It is essential that the state embrace public-private partnerships. The days of every state project being 100 percent taxpayer-financed are pau.”

In announcing the intention to veto the measure, the Gov’s Office said, “There is concern that the lone position of a state public-private partnership coordinator will not be sufficient to adequately coordinate inter-agency collaboration, maintain analysis reports and develop future public-private partnership opportunities. Having one office manage all public-private partnership contracts, proposals and negotiations for the state may create a bottleneck that will slow the progress for agencies already involved in these partnerships.”

But Wakai said, “His rationale for a veto is based upon a misunderstanding. Lawmakers are not mandating all projects go through OPPP.”

Gov. Ige did sign the state budget bill, which included $10 million for Aloha Stadium master planning and an environmental impact study to get things rolling.

But the timeline called for setting up the OPPP so that by the time the master plan and EIS were completed — targeted for early 2019 — the state would be ready to roll with a request for proposals.

Already key committees failed to pass on an empowerment bill for the stadium in the final days of the Legislature.

Timing is key because, as a study commissioned by the state reported, not only is the current stadium entering its 43rd season, but the deteriorating facility has “served its useful life and is now a liability to fan experiences, a potential danger to public health and safety and a financial burden for maintenance and operations …”

Basic health and safety costs just to keep the stadium open continue to climb.

Meanwhile, a new stadium of the 30,000- to 35,000-seat range, expandable to 40,000 seats for special events, per a consultant’s recommendation, would cost $324.5 million in 2017 dollars, a study said.

But, clearly, we’re well past that already. We’re looking at 2020 — or beyond — dollars. And each year the state waits, the cost of building a new stadium is estimated to climb $15 million to $20 million.

“With the (OPPP) established we can move forward with redevelopment plans,” Wakai said. “A veto will lead to a ‘delay of game.’”

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