Stadium repairs to cost $200M

To keep Aloha Stadium operational for the next 30 years will cost $200 million just to address priority health and safety problems, a consultant told the Aloha Stadium Authority on Thursday.

But Irwin Raij of the New York firm of Foley & Lardner cautioned the panel that the figure was calculated in 2014 dollars and the cost will rise significantly the longer repairs are postponed.

"If, for argument’s sake, we did nothing for six years — zero capital repairs — you’d then have almost $400 million in health and safety repairs," Raij said, citing a 12 percent annual construction escalation factor for Hawaii from a study commissioned late last year by the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

Officials said a $19 million request for fiscal year 2016 and an $11 million request for 2017 were not approved by the Legislature.

The data came as part of a briefing on the results of a request for information put out by the authority last fall as part of its proc­ess to decide the future of the 40-year-old, 50,000-seat facility.

Raij said a consensus of the five respondents to the RFI calculated it would cost $134 million to $300 million to build a new stadium seating 30,000 to 35,000, with possible expansion possibilities to as much as 42,000, on the current site, depending upon amenities and materials.

A separate, non-site-specific report commissioned by University of Hawaii athletic director Ben Jay last year proposed a 30,585-seat facility at a cost of $165 million to $190 million.

At least four of the respondents to Aloha Stadium’s RFI suggested the inclusion of loge boxes, club seating, suites or a combination.

None of the five favored continuing to renovate the existing stadium, and Raij said those suggestions were based on earlier estimates of $120 million in necessary health and safety repairs. He did not identify the respondents, citing proprietary reasons, but said they represent "some of the top firms in the (stadium construction) industry" with local partners.

The RFIs are nonbinding but prepare the way for issuing a request for proposal, which would be binding. Raij said the RFP could raise the number of participating parties.

"What we were looking for was ideas," Raij said. "It is all about ideas now."

Authority chairman Charles Togu­chi said, "The stadium is still safe, but at the same time, we need to keep fixing it up if we are going to keep using it."

He added, "I sort of compare it to the money that I used to put into my old car," which had 195,000 miles on it. "After a while you get to the point where you wonder, ‘Gee, I could buy a new car.’"

Authority member Michael Iosua, a former University of Hawaii football player (1998-2001), said, "I like the stadium; it is, as everybody says, iconic. But with the cost of upkeep and inflation, are we ever going to catch up? That’s something we have to figure out."

Raij said a stadium of 33,000 to 35,000, expandable to 42,000 with berm and temporary seating, would keep UH in line with its football peers in the Mountain West Conference. He told the authority only San Diego State (54,000) and the Air Force Academy (46,692) currently play in stadiums with larger seating capacities.

The Rainbow Warriors have averaged fewer than 35,000 per game through the turnstiles in seven years and have not had a sellout in the past 47 home games.

Raij said many stadiums, college and pro, are seeing thinning crowds "because HDTV is just too good," and the industry trend is toward smaller venues.

The Foley & Lardner report said, "There is consensus that both stadium and ancillary development are achieveable on the current stadium site."

Raij said the future rail station and transit-oriented development could be key components of a new facility.

The report said, "One respondent even suggested a hotel development given the proximity to the airport. Respondents pro­ject a range of $400 million to $650 million in possible ancillary development, including residential, commercial and recreational uses exclusive of parking structures or infrastructure."