More Maniac seating displaces longtime fans

The University of Hawaii has unveiled plans to expand its Manoa Maniacs student rooting section, a move that has angered some soon-to-be-displaced ticket holders.

The expansion is scheduled to begin with men’s basketball this month, eventually extending to all sports. No timetable has been disclosed.

According to a letter sent by UH to affected season-ticket holders informing them of the change, they will be moved from lower section "E" to as-yet-undisclosed locations to allow the Manoa Maniacs to move from lower section "JJ".

UH did not immediately say how many season-ticket holders would be moved.

In a letter to the athletic department, Mark Shimabukuro called the move "ill-advised and less-than-stellar treatment of the paying supporters of Rainbow Warrior basketball, especially at a time when retaining current (and courting new) season-ticket holders should be one of the primary goals of the department to help mitigate the financial hardship for the athletic department."

UH has promised to make their relocation a "top priority" with preference over "all other seat relocation requests regardless of seniority or donation level," according to the letter. In addition, UH said it is offering a 10 percent discount on the season-ticket price for the 2014-15 season, not including premium contributions, and some Manoa Maniacs items such as T-shirts and wigs.

Shimabukuro characterized the offer as a "… poor offset for many years of financial and in-person attendance support (by) the to-be-displaced current season-ticket holders of section "E," especially when it is highly likely that the new seats will be less comparable to the current ones regarding location, view-planes and such."

Wayne Yamashita, who said he has had tickets since the Stan Sheriff Center opened in 1994, said he does not plan to renew.

Neal Fujihara said, "UH athletics is saying, ‘We do not need you anymore.’"

Athletic director Ben Jay said, "We’ve been in communication with those season-ticket holders (and) you have some folks that are not happy with it because they have been in the same seats for so many years. But we think, for the environment that we need to create with our student body, it is something we need to do."

Jay said, "The Manoa Maniacs are backing us very hard and they are really pushing to get the students in (the stands). We want to support those efforts."

Men’s basketball has had one of the largest, most vocal followings of any of UH’s 21 teams and the athletic department said the Maniacs have "allocated $20,000 of their budget for marketing and game day promotions" for men’s basketball.

The department receives approximately $1.6 million each year from mandatory $50 per semester student athletic fees. In return, students gain admission to athletic events. Under terms of the agreement, UH is required to make at least 515 seats available per game for arena sports.

For men’s basketball, that number was exceeded several times last year, including turnouts of 654 for the Nov. 16 game with Illinois and 574 for the Feb. 7 game with Long Beach State.

The student turnout for men’s basketball averaged about 400 for the season, UH officials said.

UH said the Maniacs "… have come together in a significant way and are now leading the charge to lay down roots for a strong, highly coordinated and perpetuating student cheering program to be the envy of all."