The University of Hawaii is looking "very seriously" at closing down the upper levels of Aloha Stadium for its football games in 2014, athletic director Ben Jay said Wednesday.

Jay told Board of Regents Committee on Independent Audit that he envisioned reducing the capacity of the 50,000-seat facility to about 35,000 by closing the areas above the loge level.

The Rainbow Warriors attracted an average of 26,637 through the turnstiles in 2013 and haven’t reached 35,000 in any of their past 18 home games over three seasons.

Jay said, "I think there is at least a 50/50 chance, if not more really, (of closing down upper sections), depending on the numbers we get back from the stadium and our people."

Jay told the regents he believes it would save on cleanup costs, provide more of a home-field advantage and look better on television.

He said the department was studying how many of its fewer than 20,000 season-ticket holders might be impacted by such a move.

Stadium officials said the areas Jay referred to hold about 15,000 seats. They could not immediately say how much UH might save with the move but noted the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl will save approximately $5,000 by closing a smaller amount of some of the same sections.

UH had briefly considered closing some selected sections prior to the 2013 season, but backed away when the projected savings were less than anticipated.

Committee chair James Lee said, "I think over the last couple of years we have averaged about 27,000 to 28,000 at the stadium, so, if we have 35,000 (seats), that should be sufficient. It might help bring the fans together and create a more exciting atmosphere. I do subscribe to that."

The possibility of a move comes as UH also studies restructuring its season-ticket plans across several sports, beginning with football. "We want to find ways to give our season-ticket holders more value for their purchase," Jay said. "If there is one thing I’ve heard loud and wide this past season, it is that we need to give greater value to our loyal season-ticket holders. First and foremost, we have to show them the love for all the loyalty they’ve shown the program. There are people who have been buying season tickets for 20, 30, 40 years and we’ve gotta reward their loyalty."

But he also noted, "We’ve got a guy up there in the upper deck paying $99 (per season), but is he sitting in that $99 seat? Probably not. Let’s be realistic."

Jay said, "We live and die on football and we have to find ways to shore up football and enhance the revenue for the sake of all of our sports. As I told our staff, we have to rethink this whole thing, starting with football."