“I think the whole discussion about facilities leaves a lot to be desired. On the one hand everybody questions why the facilities are in such deplorable condition and they ask the Legislature why you don’t step up. On the other hand one of our frustrations is we don’t have the ability to step up if we don’t know what is actually needed. I think that discussion on facilities will be continuing and hopefully, we can get to the bottom of some of those concerns as well.”

The lamentations of a current state lawmaker decrying the Legislature’s relationship with the autonomous University of Hawaii and its athletic department?

No, that quote is from 15 years ago. The late Mark Takai was a state representative and the most vocal supporter of UH sports with some input regarding where taxpayer money went.

Back then one of UH sports’ biggest concerns was funding for turf at the on-campus Cooke Field, where football practice was sometimes held.

Now it’s 6,000 more seats for what occupies the same spot and is known as the Ching Athletic Complex — and where the Warriors will continue to play their home games for at least the next year or three.

While UH still has a stadium situation that would be funny if it weren’t so sad, the most recent news from the Legislature is actually pretty good.

Nobody wants to jinx it, because it’s not a done deal until the governor signs it. But the new state budget calls for $8 million to help UH sports (that includes $800,000 for UH Hilo).

It’s twice as much as the $3.6 million the Manoa athletic department asked for, which was the amount it was getting per year before the pandemic hit and the disbursement was cut off last year.

It’s not enough money to add those seats to make the on-campus stadium NCAA Division I compliant and pay all the rest of the bills. But it will help make up for some of that lost revenue of the past two football seasons, and take some of the sting out of having to build back the fan base.

Unlike 2007, when we were on the brink of a recession, apparently there’s plenty of state tax money to throw around. That includes a state budget allocation of $350 million for the new Aloha Stadium.

Now maybe we’ll finally see some movement on getting the old stadium in Halawa blown up and the new one built.

And don’t forget all the restaurants, shops and whatever else in the entertainment district that’s supposed to surround it. It’s supposed to draw some people and make some money even on the 350-plus nights when there’s not a UH game or a Bruno Mars concert scheduled at the stadium.

Eventually, UH football will be back where it was, playing home games 10 miles away from campus. That’s a bummer for the students, who got a little taste last fall of the flavor of an on-campus college football experience.

Well, it was more like Division II or III, than I. But still, it’s easier on a Saturday to fall out of your dorm bed and into a seat on campus than to hunt for motivation and probably a ride out of town and back.

I’ve read grandiose, half-baked ideas of building a 25,000- or even 35,000-seat stadium on lower campus — even after the plan for the new Aloha Stadium was a done deal.

Did anyone who dreamed that up or advocates it bother to check with an engineer to see if it’s even structurally possible? There’s no room except up, and the place was called “The Quarry” for a reason.

Would playing on campus indefinitely be great? Sure.

But practical? Not even close, and not at a stadium with barely enough seating for a big high school game.

Speaking of which, Edward “Skippa” Diaz Stadium at Farrington is nice. But Ching is perfect for postseason prep football.

Surely UH, the Oahu leagues, and the Hawaii High School Athletic Association can work out deals that benefit everyone.