The University of Hawaii football team is looking for new home digs.
The Aloha Stadium Authority announced Thursday that it has placed a “temporary moratorium” on new events, as well as reduced operations at the venue due to ongoing COVID-19 safety restrictions and budgetary problems.
The pandemic restrictions have severely limited revenue-generation opportunities, authority officials said in a news release. The release made no mention of maintenance issues despite earlier media reports, citing unidentified sources, that the stadium is shutting because of concerns about safety of the structure.
“It is with a heavy heart that we make this difficult decision, ” said Ross Yamasaki, chairman of the Stadium Authority, in a news release. “Aloha Stadium has been expending its reserves to maintain operations since COVID-19 restrictions began. Unfortunately, we have reached a stage where we can no longer afford to continue these expenditures.”
The Rainbow Warriors began playing at Aloha Stadium in 1975, and hosted five games this season at the 50,000-seat venue in Halawa, Oahu. No fans were allowed into the games. The “new” Aloha Stadium – a 35,000 seat multipurpose stadium located on a 98-acre site in Halawa – is slated to open in the fall of 2023 at the earliest.
“We are beyond disappointed of the news at today’s announcement from the Aloha Stadium Authority that there will be no further events in the current stadium with fans,” UH athletic director David Matlin said in a statement. “Aloha Stadium has such a storied history and carries so many memories for our football program and generations of Hawaii families. We must now take responsibility ourselves to find a suitable venue for our Rainbow Warriors, Hawaii’s football team, to play in front of our loyal fans beginning in 2021.”
Per NCAA bylaws, Football Bowl Subdivision teams must “average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football contests over a rolling two-year period.” There are no other stadiums on Oahu that meet that threshold. War Memorial Stadium on Maui seats approximately 20,000 spectators, according to its website.
The closure also could impact high school football – Hilo High’s state champion conquest against Iolani in November 2019 will go down as one of the final prep games at the stadium – as well as other spectator events such as concerts and graduations. Issues with rust have been an ongoing problem for the aging 45-year-old facility, which is also facing a budget deficit for the current fiscal year.
“I just think it’s such a disastrous development to shut down the stadium. But I understand it’s another victim of COVID and there’s just not enough revenues coming in for the stadium to operate as it has been in the past, ” state Sen. Glen Wakai said. “I just feel especially for the University of Hawaii. Where in the world are they going to be playing their football games for the next three seasons until we complete the new stadium.”
Asked about the stadium at a state House legislative hearing Thursday morning, UH President David Lassner said it was a great concern to the university.
“It’s pretty serious to us,” he said. “If we can’t have fans there, we need to identify another place to play for fall 2021. So it’s gonna be a real challenge.”
The Tribune-Herald contributed to this report.