The columns and guideways along Aloha Stadium’s Kamehameha Highway border that will eventually bring rail to the facility’s doorstep also serve as something of a symbol.

For people involved in the planning for a new stadium, they are inspiration to make the project the anti-rail by bringing the planned stadium and surrounding entertainment district to a timely, cost-conscious conclusion.

When Gov. David Ige signed into law legislation providing $350 million in funding for the stadium Monday, it was heralded as the “kickoff” of the project by state Sen. Glenn Wakai, in whose district the facility sits.

In putting together the financial package — $20 million in capital, $150 million in general obligation bonds and $180 million in revenue bonds — legislative conferees have also made it known that the money comes with an urgency to see the project realized, since they are loath to put any more money into fixing up the stadium in the interim.

A 2023-24 finish line has been held up by some as a target, something a prominent stadium construction industry figure Friday described as “an aggressive timeline” given the scope of what the state is seeking. “Really aggressive, but not impossible,” he said.

For a stadium of the size, tentatively 32,000- to 35,000-seat capacity, envisioned for the new stadium, the industry figure, who declined to be named because his firm may seek business with the state, said a two- to three-year timeline would be common.

But the state is seeking to build more than just a replacement for the soon-to-be 45-year-old stadium. It envisions the stadium as a centerpiece of an entertainment district that could include restaurants, shops and, possibly, a hotel. All planned to better capitalize on the revenue potential of the 98.6-acre footprint and entice developers to help fund stadium construction in a precedent-setting public-private partnership here.

An environmental impact study and master plan are currently underway and could be completed in late 2020 or early 2021. The results will then be offered with the issuance of a request for proposals from prospective development partners, which could require additional infrastructure upgrades.

The building of the current Aloha Stadium began with lofty expectations, too., and eventually took just over four years from its controversial July 1, 1971 groundbreaking to its Sept. 12, 1975 opening.

Due to 127 change orders, a 10-week metal workers strike, an exceptionally rainy period in 1974 and other complications, the stadium finished two years behind schedule and nearly $10 million above its initial $27 million “ceiling.”

That, however, was only the beginning on a price tag that soared when the stadium, whose steel components were supposed to rust to “a protective patina,” did not stabilize and continued to corrode.

Only later, an environmental assessment reported, was it discovered “that weathering steel is sensitive to salt-laden air environments” resulting in more than $100 million in repair and remediation efforts that continue to this day.

In addition, the highly touted revolutionary air cushions that were to allow the stadium to easily switch between football and baseball configurations became too cumbersome and expensive to operate and the facility had to be locked into football format.

At every turn in Halawa, where the new stadium will rise, are reminders of pitfalls the facility needs to separate itself from.

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