Saturday’s football game between Hawaii and San Jose State will be played at Aloha Stadium, according to a tweet from the UH football program.
The game initially was going to be played at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif.
But new coronavirus-related restrictions forced San Jose State to seek a new location. Santa Clara County imposed a rule that will not allow sports-related activities, such as practices and games, for the next three weeks.
It appeared the game would not be played in Hawaii because the ruling also requires travelers from outside a 150-mile radius to quarantine for 14 days.
But both schools apparently reached an agreement to move the game to Aloha Stadium. A kickoff time has not be set.
“We explored many venue and date options for this game over the last 48 hours, ” San Jose State athletic director Marie Tuite said in a news release. “Moving the game from San Jose to Honolulu became the best option based on our county and the state’s current public health directives. We want to thank many people who were involved in the decision-making process and there were many — our university administration, the Mountain West office and the conference schools that offered their support.”
On Monday, Tuite told reporters that her program wasn’t looking at moving the game to Hawaii as an option, but was considering “just about any stadium that can handle the media and TV requirements. That’s the big challenge — the infrastructure of the stadium,” according to the (San Jose) Mercury News.
Before the season began Oct. 24, the Spartans relocated 320 miles to Humboldt State because county health officials would not permit contact drills on campus. The team created a “bubble” environment for 10 days of preseason practices that officials from both state universities declared a success.
The move was not without controversy, however. Santa Clara County public health officials said at the time, “We would be very disappointed to see a football team going outside the county to circumvent a process that was put in place to ensure the safety of its players and staff.”
Humboldt County Public Health officials were equally frustrated by the move, saying they were not consulted in the decision. Since then, Humboldt State leaders said they would welcome SJSU back for practice and/or games, contingent on country health’s approval.
A Humboldt County Public Health agency spokeswoman said Monday morning her department had not been approached by school officials about San Jose State’s possible return to Arcata. She added that state guidelines mandate school officials discuss such a move with a county health officer before approving it.