Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan said the “tender loving care” of the 45-year old facility is being upped in case the new stadium isn’t ready to open as projected.

The current target date for the new facility in the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District is September 2023.

“With the possibility of going beyond that,” Chan has told the Stadium Authority maintenance is increasing its care where possible, including prolonging the life of the current synthetic turf, which is supposed to run through 2023.

The 58,000-square-foot playing surface was installed in 2016 at a cost of $1.2 million, which was underwritten by the naming rights agreement then in force, and came with a five-year maintenance agreement, Chan said.

With uncertainty over when football games will resume due to COVID-19 restrictions, Chan said, “The entire playing surface is covered by Geotech and held down by several sheets of Duradek. Also, our stadium field crew is constantly monitoring the playing surface by fulfilling the service agreement.”

He said that includes, “Grooming, brushing, aerating, inspecting and maintaining the field on a regular basis.”

The University of Hawaii’s listed home opener is Sept. 5 against UCLA.

Meanwhile, “Within our limited operating funds, we do our best to implement preventive (rust) remediation measures, where possible,” Chan said.

He said, “While it would be our intent to ramp up rust remediation work during this (down) time, capital improvement work of this nature is contingent upon CIP funding. The last CIP appropriation for health and safety was in 2017. The Authority has since used all of its appropriated CIP funding to address health and safety rust remediation work. It has not received any further CIP appropriation for health and safety.”

The Authority’s $7.7 million budget request to address rust remediation related to structural assessment is pending for the supplemental year 2021.