Stephen Tsai: Hawaii gets to show it can host a full house for football

It is early, but the line is long to buy poi donuts.

And so you wait … and wait … and wait …

And when it is finally your turn at the counter, the cashier says: “Sorry, we just ran out of poi donuts. … How about bear claws?”

A similar feeling might occur this Saturday at the Ching Complex. After a long wait, the University of Hawaii will serve as host to its first on-campus football game with a capacity crowd. And while the event will be good, in the big picture, there’s a likelihood it will be only bear-claw good compared to the initial wish for an entire season of crowds.

That would be a shame, because UH’s original plan for the season, even under reasonable COVID-19 precautionary protocols, was creative and comparatively lucrative. It also would have backed UH’s confidence that it could do the best job in staging football events. But the late approval to lift attendance restrictions, and with only two remaining home games, UH has scrambled to adjust ticket distributions and fans to rearrange their Saturday plans.

For decades, there was a feeling UH officials could do it better than their state cohorts. UH leaders knew they could maintain a stadium that would not turn into the Tin Man in the rain. They knew they could concoct a plan that would allow fair distribution of concession and parking revenue. They knew troughs were not acceptable bathroom fixtures.

UH officials already proved they could one-up the city’s Blaisdell Arena. The Stan Sheriff Center, which opened in 1994, is vastly superior in accommodating teams and entertaining sports fans.

And this Saturday was supposed to be UH officials’ “take that” moment as the Rainbow Warriors play host to the San Diego State football team before a capacity crowd at the 9,000-seat Ching Complex. With spectator limits lifted, this game is supposed to prove UH can throw a party that is fun, organized and safe.

The problem is, not all of UH’s ideas will be realized because of the lateness in opening outdoor events to full capacity. UH’s original plan for marketing and promotions was based on an entire season, even if it meant events at half capacity. Government mandates made sure of that with months of obstacles that still resonate.

A year ago, Ching Complex was yellow-taped as the school dealt with the pandemic. When Aloha Stadium became unavailable for future spectator-attended events because of the structural concerns at the Halawa facility, UH was forced to retrofit Ching into a workable site for home football games.

UH installed new turf and a video scoreboard; bought portable bleachers; purchased metal benches to place atop concrete stands on the mauka structure; and constructed booths for media, coaches and statisticians, and luxury boxes for donors. School officials also came up with a reasonable plan that would accommodate some of the 16,000 obligations to parents and friends of the players and coaches, season-ticket holders, corporate partners and UH students. More would be accommodated after Ching’s capacity is increased next year. Ben Kia‘aina was hired as PA announcer to bring the same enthusiasm to UH first downs as he does with “roof” calls during volleyball matches.

All that was needed was government leaders’ blessing. UH officials believed things were trending that way in the spring and then summer. But the trend flat-lined. Despite proposals to allow only vaccinated and masked spectators, UH was restricted from having any fans for their first three home games and limited to 1,000 vaccinated and masked spectators for the fourth game. UH started offering refunds and deferrals to season-ticket holders and those who bought six-game parking passes for up to $500 a stall.

With restrictions eased for only the final two regular-season games at Ching, a chunk of UH’s marketing plans and promotions were wasted or minimized. The Rainbow Warrior Marching Band’s homecoming show was performed to an empty stadium. There were only 1,000 fans in attendance when the 2021 Circle of Honor class was introduced. Only 1,000 were there for the ceremony to retire Colt Brennan’s No. 15.

UH’s season tickets have been reduced to two-game packages. The ticket distribution is similar to how individual-game tickets are sold. The good news is players’ allotment of tickets has increased from the two each they were given for the New Mexico State game two weeks ago. But with no tailgating, no concessions — no garlic fries! — and hurried rearrangements, UH’s very best production might be still to come.