Stephen Tsai: State should have helped pay for retrofitting of Ching Field

For once, the University of Hawaii’s pinkie-swear promise was kept.

The Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex has been retrofitted according to the blueprint. The two-toned AstroTurf is art. The prefabricated bleachers, which bring seating capacity to 9,000, and media booths have been assembled. The framework is in place for a two-sided video scoreboard and luxury boxes.

Plans already are in the works to double the seating capacity next year, as well as relocate Aloha Stadium’s 20.5-foot-by-75.5-foot LED scoreboard to Ching field.

Even more seats and amenities are expected to be added in the ensuing years.

And while that is all hunky and dory, UH — and its football team — deserve even more.

UH did what it could with what it had after being told in December that Aloha Stadium, where the Rainbow Warriors played their home football games for 45 years, would no longer be available for spectator events because of structural concerns. That was that, even though the Aloha Stadium offices still are in use and there is no stay-out yellow tape around the facility. The decision forced UH to retrofit its on-campus facility for home football games until a replacement stadium is built in Halawa.

UH is meeting the assembly deadline in advance of the Sept. 4 home opener. The Warriors have expressed optimism about the advantage of playing games where they practice. But yet …

How the heck did UH get stuck with the $8.3 transformation bill? Historical context: it was Gov. John Burns who led the way to building Aloha Stadium explicitly for the Warriors’ ascension in college football. Swap meets, Robbie Knievel motorcycle jumps, truck shows, high school graduations, all-star games, Team Hawaii soccer, and concerts were collateral benefits to UH football games. But the original intent was for the stadium to be the Warriors’ home venue.

In the real world, when a business with whom you have a perpetual contract cannot fulfill its obligation, it helps to find a replacement. In this case, Aloha Stadium shuts down your five-bedroom house and tells you to find a fixer-upper studio. That does not seem just.

The state, which also controls Aloha Stadium, should not only foot the bill for retrofitting Ching, it should pay for seat backs, lavatories, and locker rooms for visiting teams and officials at Ching. Those were the basics at Aloha Stadium.

Of course, that won’t happen. For several years, the Legislature’s support for UH has dwindled. There is not enough money, and UH’s share continues to narrow. It is a shame because the state’s largest university often is the only higher-education option for many residents. And UH’s athletic programs provide national publicity and generate significant tourism revenue.

Instead of cutbacks, the state needs to help UH construct new buildings and maintain the old ones, buy more equipment for classes, expand the curriculum — physical therapy or pharmacy? — increase the TAs’ compensation, lower tuition, develop ties with businesses and, well, pay for Ching’s transformation. And during this REM stage, why not add charter flights for the football team?