Hawaii’s attorney general urges cooperation on Aloha Stadium issue

Two state agencies at odds must cooperate to build a new Aloha Stadium, according to the attorney general in an emailed letter made public at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Stadium Authority board.

“(As) to jurisdiction, the Stadium Authority owns the land under the existing stadium. The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism has the $350 million appropriated by the legislature to build the stadium. Without an agreement between both the Stadium Authority and DBEDT, a stadium cannot be constructed,” stated the email, signed by Deputy Attorney General Bryan C. Yee and approved by Attorney General Holly T. Shikada.

It was in response to questions from state Sen. Glenn Wakai, asking whether DBEDT is overstepping by trying to turn the project into a traditional design- build, publicly funded stand-alone stadium, instead of the public-private partnership New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District that state planners and consultants have spent $20 million of state funds and three years working on.

The letter also states the Stadium Authority has “sole jurisdiction over development of the stadium development district,” which Wakai interprets to mean the NASED plan can continue.

But Gov. David Ige and DBEDT Director Mike Mc­Cartney have consistently insisted on a stadium-first plan since September. NASED planners responded by saying any changes now would further delay completion of a new stadium that was most recently estimated for a 2027 opening.

When asked about the letter, Ige doubled down.

“I did not see that opinion, but I do know that there is no appropriation for a public-private partnership for a stadium, period. So it would be interesting to see what the Stadium Authority would authorize, because they cannot proceed without an appropriation, period,” said Ige, whose second and final term as governor ends Dec. 5.

Addressing a question from Wakai regarding whether DBEDT’s role should be restricted to purely administrative issues, the correspondence stated that the “extent of DBEDT’s role in deciding how the money should be spent is a policy decision rather than a legal one. Accordingly, we cannot answer that question,” the email concluded.

Wakai represents neighborhoods surrounding the stadium and is a staunch proponent of the NASED plan.

“There are no legal grounds on what Mr. Mc­Cartney says about canceling (requests for proposals for NASED),” said Wakai, who attended Thursday’s meeting online.

“Mr. McCartney, we’ve worked so hard to get to this point,” Wakai said. “Let’s collaborate. Let’s get this project going.”

Wakai said McCartney has been “making big pronouncements with no plan” about building a stadium, and that he “erroneously believes (his position at DBEDT) puts him in charge of the project.”

McCartney, who also serves as a Stadium Authority board member, declined at first to respond to Wakai’s interpretation of the answers from the attorney general and other comments. A few minutes later he said, “I appreciate the senator’s follow-up, although I don’t like the tone and tenor.”

In mid-September, Ige’s office abruptly put a halt to requests for proposals from private developers to build and maintain NASED.

The governor said Sept. 21 he would announce his plans for a new stadium in three weeks. Both Ige and McCartney said then that their focus is on building a traditional design-build, stand-alone stadium rather than a stadium-entertainment district run by private developers. But no details have been announced.

The state Legislature shifted administrative control of the stadium last session to DBEDT from the Department of Accounting and General Services.

DAGS had worked with consultants and the community to develop plans for NASED and was prepared to issue its request for proposals when Ige halted the process om September.

State Comptroller and DAGS Director Curt Otaguro has resigned. DAGS Deputy Director Audrey Hidano assumes that post today, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

Also Thursday, University of Hawaii President David Lassner had little to report to the Board of Regents about stadium issues, other than to reiterate that UH plans to expand its on-campus football stadium, which now seats a little more than 9,000 fans.

“At this time we still expect that the Rainbow Warrior football team will be playing on an expanded Ching Field, with the Jumbotron from Aloha Stadium, in front of at least 15,000 fans,” Lassner said.