Editorial: Put new stadium in Halawa plans

Nearly two years after the Aloha Stadium Authority approved a resolution supporting construction of a new stadium rather than going the repair route as the more financially prudent course of action, the governor-appointed panel is poised to see headway toward that vision.

After the panel met behind closed doors last week with representatives of the Department of Accounting and General Services planning branch, officials said work on the stadium’s master plan and environmental impact statement (EIS) are slated to get underway this month. The closed-door process is unacceptable, especially with such a consequential and potentially expensive project, so that must change.

Still, hearing of progress was positive, given that the 44-year-old facility has limped along with deferred maintenance issues for far too long. Structural engineers assure us that the stadium is still sturdy enough to handle mass stomping and jumping in the stands — as demonstrated at last month’s packed Bruno Mars shows.

But the list of needed repairs and upgrades, including $120 million in improvements needed to comply with the American with Disabilities Act, is nerve-wracking. What’s more, a Stadium Authority report last year tagged the 50,000-seat venue as a “potential danger to public health and safety” as well as a “financial burden.”

The panel’s vision of scaled-down replacement, which it contends would cost less than the overall price tag for basic needs to keep the facility working for another 25 years, appears reasonable. The master plan’s cost-benefit analysis and EIS scrutiny of the 98-acre parcel in Halawa will serve as much-needed double-checks.

The expected plan, as depicted in artist renderings, could feature a U-shaped 30,000- to 35,000-seat facility, opening at one end to a picnic-ready sloping grass berm and surrounded by plaza restaurants and shops as well as housing — much-needed housing. Also, city plans are in the works to build a rail station on the parcel, which would provide a valuable link with West Oahu and urban Honolulu.

A smaller stadium makes sense. With the exception of Hawaii’s own Bruno, very few concerts or athletic events have generated stadium-filling crowds. When they do, in the case of concerts, the obvious fix — regardless of venue size — is to add shows, as Mars did, generating more than 113,751 in total ticket sales.

What’s more, the Mars shows demonstrated that with proper management of traffic flow and parking, stadium-filling events can avoid gridlock “Carmageddon.”

The Legislature has appropriated $10 million for the upcoming master plan and EIS studies. That, of course, is a first big drop in a larger bucket. Last year, the cost for the proposed replacement stadium at its current site was estimated at $324.5 million. Officials have said analysis of possible alternate sites would be undertaken, but have yet to pinpoint possibilities. Relocation talk, though, has included West Oahu and the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus.

It appears that rebuilding at the Halawa site, where the stadium occupies 11.5 acres, is preferable since surrounding acreage could be revitalized with commercial and residential construction, including affordable housing units, in tandem with city transit-oriented development. However, with Oahu’s 20-mile elevated rail line stretching to Kapolei, the “second city” could serve as a viable Plan B, should relocation shake out as the more-sensible course.

An impulse to move the stadium to UH-Manoa is understandable, given that the arena serves as home field for the football team, and an on-campus stadium could enhance school spirit. Unfortunately, though, the area’s already strained roadways and infrastructure would be further burdened under such development.

The speediest scenario says new stadium construction could begin in late 2021 or 2022. In the meantime, the Stadium Authority, along with state and city elected leaders and others, should move forward with careful planning and watchdog monitoring tied to spending of taxpayer dollars.