Bills would give stadium authority wider powers

The Aloha Stadium Authority would be granted wider powers to develop property at the site of the deteriorating 42-year-old stadium under companion bills introduced Tuesday in the state legislature.

House Bill 1128 and Senate Bill 994, both from Gov. David Ige’s legislative package, would, if passed, form the next step toward determining the future of the state’s largest outdoor venue.

The bills give would give the Stadium Authority discretion in the preparation of a development plan for the complex as well as the abilities to acquire, assign, sell or lease property. The powers could be somewhat similar to those of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, some have said.

The 50,000-seat stadium occupies approximately 11.5 acres of a nearly 100-acre parcel in Halawa.

With a rail station planned for Aloha Stadium, officials see prospects for transit-oriented development and possible public-private partnerships that could help defray the costs of building a new stadium.

The rusting facility, which opened in 1975 at a cost of $37 million, is expected to require approximately $300 million just in critical health and safety repairs to extend the life of the facility.

The appointed and unpaid nine-member Stadium Authority earlier this month recommended that a new stadium with the seating capacity of 30,000-35,000 permanent seats but expandable to more than 40,000 seats for special events, be built on the current parcel.

The recommendation said a “state-of-the-art” facility of that size “can be constructed for an amount roughly comparable, including market escalation, to the Department (of Accounting and General Services’) current estimate for health and safety repairs, depending upon the materials selected for construction, the amenities included in the design and the timing of construction, exclusive in all cases of transportation improvements, remediation and related infrastructure …”

If critical health and safety repairs are not addressed, the estimated $300 million repair tab would climb about 7 percent per annum, a state report said. The resolution warned, “if the state funds approximately $25.5 million per year, it would take at least 25 years for the State to complete the currently documented existing required repairs, totaling $637.5 million.”

Ross Yamasaki, chairman of the Stadium Authority, was not immediately available for comment and Stadium Manager Scott Chan declined comment on the bills Tuesday until he is able to “review and discuss further with all concerned.”