The envisioned successor to deteriorating Aloha Stadium doesn’t have so much as an o’o stick in the Halawa ground yet, but it does have a name and, soon, a website.

Meet the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District — or NASED — as it has been christened. (Not to be confused with the National Association of State Election Directors, of course).

The stadium version was introduced at the Convention Sports &Entertainment Facilities Conference in San Diego, where it was heralded as “among the first examples of a fully comprehensive social infrastructure public-private partnership in the United States.” The briefing came for an audience of what was described in materials as including, “prospective developers and industry partners.”

Never mind that the core funding, in the form of House Bill 1586 passed by the Legislature last month, awaits Gov. David Ige’s signature. The wheels are rapidly being set in motion for the $350 million project.

And not a moment too soon as the rust flakes fly. Because, while the Legislature fully backed the project, it also attached a message of unmistakable urgency by not funding any additional health and safety repairs for the near term.

Aloha Stadium will commence its 45th year of operation this football season and the race is on to keep the state’s largest entertainment facility upright and functional until its replacement appears and the gates open next door.

The most recent status report by consulting structural engineers recommended moving inspections of the facility from a biennial to an annual basis. Any interim concerns would be addressed immediately, stadium officials said.

“We’ll sharpen our pencils and try to find a way to get done what needs to be done,” stadium manager Scott Chan told the Aloha Stadium Authority at a recent meeting.

In the meantime, the Stadium Authority and Hawaii Community Development Authority are on track toward a memorandum of understanding and work is underway on an environmental impact statement and master plan, whose processes could extend through 2020.

At that point, it is hoped, the state will have something enticing to share in seeking proposals from prospective developers. With the coming of rail to the area and suitability for transit-oriented development, a public-private partnership on the 98-acre site is envisioned to help defray construction and operational costs.

The state funding package includes $150 million in reimbursable general obligation bonds, $50 million from general revenues and $150 million in general obligation bonds.

To come up with the reimbursement portion, the state, through its agents, has said it is “…committed to an on-going high level of engagement with the industry to refine the pathway for this critical project.”

A spokesman said the initial response “was very positive.”

Stadium Authority chairman Ross Yamasaki said, “We’re moving toward trying to position the state in the best way possible to the development community. It is a matter of finding ways to engage with developers who may have an interest in the direction we’re trying to go. That’s the plan.”

The proof will be in what — and when — it rises in Halawa.

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