Imagine two people relentlessly rummaging under, around and through the cushions on a large sofa hunting for spare change.

Do that and you have a picture that approximates the now-annual exercise that the University of Hawaii and Aloha Stadium engage in this time of the year.

Officially, it is the contract negotiation between UH and its football landlord of going on 44 years. But it is more of a treasure hunt involving two state entities than a tug-of-war.

On one hand you have UH, largely the reason the facility was built in the first place and the main in-stadium tenant, desperate to bolster its sagging bottom line by enhancing revenue, or, at the very least, shaving bucks off the operating expenses it is charged to play there.

Meanwhile, on the other, there is the aging stadium, which is mandated by the state to toe its own bottom line and generate its operating funds. (In some years, but not recently, the stadium receives an appropriation for basic health and safety repairs.)

So, what we have is one Halawa between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place conundrum. One that, unless attendance improves, leaves little room for significant additions to either party’s bank account.

UH is one of two schools in the 12-member Mountain West Conference that does not own or operate the facility it plays its home games in, leaving it at a distinct disadvantage on several fronts. San Diego State is the other.

Since 2007, when the Sugar Bowl-bound Rainbow Warriors attracted an average of 41,325 through the turnstiles, UH has not been charged rent at the stadium, a waiver of approximately $500,000 that Stadium Authority members had hoped would be balanced out by the crowds UH was drawing.

Instead, UH has averaged 17,682 over the past three seasons.

UH, as with the high schools, still pays for operational expenses including cleanup, electricity, security, ushers, staffing, etc. In the ’Bows’ case, that runs approximately $90,000-$100,000 a game.

The flip side is that UH does not get a cut of the concessions for the games it plays there. Though, as a succession of athletic directors have fumed over decades, they are required to pay for the cleanup.

UH is able to purchase some parking, which it can then re-sell to boosters and others. And UH is permitted to sell some box seating and so-called “below-the-rail” field-level, temporary advertising signage for its games. The stadium retains the rights to other advertising. UH received a one-time $150,000 payment for the former Hawaiian Airlines field naming rights.

Last year, UH and stadium officials creatively worked out a revenue-sharing deal whereby the school would receive credits toward expense, if the turnstile count hit various thresholds based on a previous 10-year average. But with just two games topping the minimum rung, 22,000, UH only realized $5,000 in savings.

When the Stadium Authority last year revealed a consultant’s proposal for a new stadium on the current site, UH President David Lassner was asked what the school sought in a new home.

Lassner was less picky about the size of the stadium and more concerned about the possibilities it should bring, saying, “Our goal is to have a more favorable financial relationship with the stadium where we play football so that it becomes a revenue opportunity.”

But until a new home is built, or the crowds come back in large numbers, it is time to look under the cushions, again.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.