Gov. David Ige meets with Stadium Authority ahead of announcing his new direction for project

Oct. 11—The project remains in limbo as Hawaii sports fans and taxpayers await Ige's new plan.

Gov. David Ige has yet to reveal his "different direction " to rebuild Aloha Stadium more than three weeks after scrapping the previous plan, but his point person on the project says "it's a stretch " to expect that private development will help defray maintenance costs of a new facility.

"We do have to address the maintenance (costs ), " Mike McCartney told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday. "But we should seize the moment and prioritize the stadium. Let's keep it simple first. Other things in the district can come later."

In mid-September, Ige's office abruptly put a halt to requests for proposals from private developers to build and maintain the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District in Halawa under a private-public partnership.

Ige said his administration plans a different direction for the project.

The governor's office then said Sept. 21 that he would announce his plans for a new stadium in three weeks, but both Ige and McCartney made clear at the time that their focus is on building a traditional design-build, stand-alone stadium rather than a stadium-entertainment district run by private developers.

McCartney is director of the Department of Business and Economic Development and Tourism, which is now responsible for the stadium after the state Legislature shifted control from the state Department of Accounting and General Services.

Over several years and at a cost of $20 million, 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 last month.

McCartney and Ige have not given an estimate for when a new stadium would be built now, and Wednesday marks 21 days since the governor said he would announce details of a new plan within three weeks.

In the meantime the project remains in limbo as Hawaii sports fans and taxpayers await Ige's new plan.

On Monday, Ige met in private with the Stadium Authority board and University of Hawaii President David Lassner at the state Capitol, but Ige, McCartney, Lassner and everyone else in attendance declined to comment on what was discussed.

When asked why the administration scrapped the requests for proposals from developers so late in the process and with less than three months before Ige leaves office, McCartney said Monday, "Every governor has 1, 461 days (in their term ), " and "a lot " can be done in the remaining time he has in office.

McCartney said an unpredictable economy and were factors in not changing plans sooner.

NASED planners estimated in August that a new stadium would be up and running in time for the 2027 football season, and such a drastic shift now will cause delays. The change also would affect the quality of a stadium that can be built with the $350 million (plus $50 million for maintenance ) allocated by the Legislature last session, planners have said.

The governor outlined his reasons for the shift away from the NASED plan in a One reason he cited was potential problems with the housing component of the plan, which some proponents, including gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Josh Green, see as critical to the project's success.

"Statewide, the lack of adequate infrastructure remains the biggest roadblock to developing more homes, " Ige wrote. "This is certainly true of the Aloha Stadium site where the existing infrastructure, specifically water and wastewater, cannot support much-needed housing. I fully support a coordinated and accelerated effort to build out the needed infrastructure to develop homes in this prime location."

Lassner, meanwhile, has been mostly quiet on a project that would feature his university's football team as the No. 1 attraction.

Asked about speculation that UH would play a bigger role than just tenant at the next Aloha Stadium, Lassner said in a statement after Ige's September announcement that "(the university ) will continue to engage with the state on future plans for Aloha Stadium to do our best to shape a project that is good for the state and good for UH and can be completed as soon as possible with the resources provided during the last legislative session."

The UH football team played its home games at the original 50, 000-seat Aloha Stadium from its opening in 1975 to 2020. Since 2021 the Warriors have played on campus at the 9, 000-seat Ching Complex.