Some key decisions the state will need to make regarding University of Hawaii athletics are not easy ones.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Hawaii Poll asked registered voters their opinion on whether a new Aloha Stadium should be built as part of a major development in Halawa, or whether the home of University of Hawaii football should be at Clarence T.C. Ching Complex as it continues to expand over the coming years.
Just eight percentage points separated the 46% who voted for a new stadium in Halawa from the 38% who want the stadium to be on the UH Manoa campus. That doesn’t include 1 out of every 6 responders who said they were either unsure or didn’t approve of either idea.
“I think if you just look at fiscally how the state has been going since 2000, the last thing they need to do is build a new stadium,” said poll respondent Christopher Oliveira, 38, of Waianae. “We invite only one or two big events a year … and not only that, looking into the future, I don’t see big events being what they were with the internet taking over after COVID shut down society.”
The Hawaii Poll was conducted Jan. 24-28 by telephone by Mason- Dixon Polling & Strategy of Washington, D.C. It includes 800 registered Hawaii voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The multisport stadium would be part of the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District, which would include high-rise housing, a hotel, offices and retail and commercial businesses in addition to the proposed 35,000-seat stadium, which would be home to UH football.
The state Department of Accounting and General Services is expecting $350 million in state taxpayer financing.
“I haven’t been to Aloha Stadium in years, but I think that we need it,” said poll respondent Denise Kenoa of Hilo. “There are so many other things I really wish we would take care of first, though, like our homeless situation.”
University of Hawaii athletic director David Matlin said Friday during an appearance on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program that he can see the future home of UH football in either location.
His pressing issue is time. The NCAA has a minimum attendance requirement of an average of 15,000 people per game once every two years to maintain FBS status.
Obviously, to get that, a program needs a stadium with at least 15,000 seats. The Ching Complex could hold up to 9,000 fans for this past UH football season, and Matlin said they expect to add roughly 1,000 seats for next year before hitting the 15,000 mark by 2023.
UH has received an exemption regarding that two-year window due to special circumstances, but it is not a given it will continue to get one without a legitimate facility that meets the standard requirements.
Construction of the new stadium in Halawa isn’t expected to begin until 2023.
“We need to have a solid plan and have a timetable of when, because that will help us in so many areas. That’s our big target now,” Matlin said. “Our plan is to get to where we meet the criteria by 2023. That’s why we have to go on parallel tracks. We have to have Clarence T.C. Ching Complex ready for the foreseeable future, but hopefully it won’t be as long as anticipated.”
The original Aloha Stadium was built with a capacity of 50,000, which was big enough for the NFL to decide to bring its Pro Bowl all-star game here from 1980 to 2016.
For many responders in the poll, building the stadium in Halawa was more important for hosting entertainment and other sporting events instead of just UH football.
“I would really love for the Pro Bowl to come back to Hawaii. I think that having things like that in Hawaii helps us, and so why not build a stadium?” said poll respondent Raynette Mariano, 46, of Waianae. “With what we are doing with rail and how much money we’re expecting it to cost, that $350 million, that’s nothing.”
In other questions related to University of Hawaii athletics, 44% of responders said fewer resources should be spent on sports as a way of handling the large financial deficits the department has taken on in recent years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thirty-four percent said the state should provide more financial support for UH sports, while only 6% felt the school should charge higher student fees to subsidize athletics.
The most agreement on a subject came with 47% of responders saying the UH athletic department should have handled the situation involving former football coach Todd Graham and his relationships with his players that ultimately led to the coach deciding to resign from the position instead of allowing lawmakers to get involved.
Graham stepped down after two seasons as head coach a week after a Senate information briefing was held to address complaints about the program and why so many players decided to transfer after the regular season ended.
