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Longtime home of the National Football League’s Pro Bowl, host to famous entertainers such as Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson, and home of the popular Swap Meet, Aloha Stadium has been a central attraction on Oahu for over forty years. When it was first built, it was a state-of-the-art facility with four movable sections, allowing the 50,000-seat stadium to be converted into a football, soccer or baseball field.

But now Aloha Stadium is showing signs of aging, salt water weathering, lack of compliance and lack of amenities. The Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) released reports showing the current stadium needs $300 million in health and safety renovations and another $121 million to make the stadium ADA compliant .

New Oahu Stadium

Instead of pouring millions of dollars into renovating Oahu’s old stadium, the state Legislature allocated $350 million in 2019 to build a new stadium. The state also plans to partner with a private developer to form a public-private partnership.

It will be more than a stadium, but the project is called the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED), and it has plans to create a live, work and play community for both Hawaii residents and visitors to the island. The current 98-acre Aloha Stadium in Halawa, near the village of Aieya, will be transformed to include the following and more:

• Aloha Stadium with 35,000 seats
• hotel
• mixed-use retail
• railroad station
• pedestrian embankment
• entertainment district
• exchange of meeting places
• residential area with houses
• parking

Aloha Stadium timeline

Although delays with the Aloha Stadium area project have people in Hawaii beginning to compare Aloha Stadium to the Honolulu Rail Transit project, officials say they are carefully planning pre-construction work to ensure they stay on budget.

Chris Kinimaka of the Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) said, “One of the hallmarks of our project is that we take the time up front to ensure the planning, scoping and budgeting are complete and accurate. as much as possible”.

Here’s the Aloha Stadium schedule for summer 2021:

1. May 2021  – market entry.
2. July 2021 – Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and Request for Proposals (RFP) accepted to identify priority teams for stadium construction. 
3. Summer 2021 – Scheduled to prepare a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 
4. 1/2 quarter 2022 – The contract was concluded with the developer (developers). 
5. End of 2022 / beginning of 2023 – Start of construction. 
6. Unknown – Groundbreaking for New Aloha Stadium opens. More than 900,000 square feet are expected to be built in this first phase of development, which will include the stadium itself, as well as some mixed-use developments and infrastructure to connect to the Honolulu Railroad. 
7. 2033-2038 – The full development of the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District is expected to consist of several phases that will be completed over the next 10 to 15 years after the opening of the new Aloha Stadium. 

What is the current status of Aloha Stadium construction?

Announced in December 2020, the state selected the top three developers from its summer 2020 request for proposals for the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District. By the end of May 2020, six development teams responded to the request for qualifications (RFQ), and the evaluation committee selected three finalists. These three finalists will be invited to submit a Request for Proposals (RFP) to qualify to become the final developer and manager of the Aloha Stadium project around July 2021.

Below are the three finalists:

1. Aloha Stadium District Partners. The leading shareholders are John Laing Investments Limited, Civil & Building North American Inc. and Hawaiian Dredging Construction Co.
2. Aloha Hui Hilina’i Stadium – Plenary Americas US Holdings Inc. is the leading shareholder. and PCL Investments Canada Inc.
3. Waiola Development Partners. Leading shareholders include EllisDon Capital Inc., Kobayashi Group LLC and BSC Acquisitions II LLC.

During the RFP, each finalist will propose their own stadium design in addition to plans to build, finance and maintain a facility on 20 acres of land adjacent to the current stadium.

“Due to delays caused by COVID-19 and the failure of [the Aloha Stadium bill] to pass this year, the procurement schedule has been amended accordingly,” said Chris Kinimaka, public works administrator for the Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services. (DAGS). “We expect to review and confirm the stadium opening date as part of the RFP phase.”

Despite delays due to COVID-19, these three qualified development teams will soon be able to submit an RFP in July 2021. The winning team is expected to be paid to demolish the old Aloha Stadium and build a new 35,000-seat stadium. 20 acres next to the current stadium. This team will also have a contract to maintain the stadium for the next 30-40 years.

Another request for quotes/proposals for the development of the area around the stadium, known as the real estate project, is expected to be issued in July 2021, which is also expected to be selected in the first half of 2022. 

Drafts of the selected master plan, as well as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), were released in the summer of 2020 at a cost to the state of $5,000,000. 

Below are three options to help you imagine what the future Aloha Stadium will look like! These documents were prepared by Crawford Architects, who also worked on the Minnesota Vikings stadium and a number of university stadiums such as South Dakota State University and Pennsylvania State University.

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published on December 23, 2020, and the public comment period closed on February 8, 2021. NASED held virtual community meetings and comments could also be submitted via email at any time. The Governor’s Office will provide final approval of the EIS, and the final EIS is expected to be released in summer 2021.

NASED also reports that a separate and specific archaeological inventory (AIS) is currently being conducted, although this is not a requirement of the EIS. This AIS must ensure that no historical or culturally significant resources are affected.

Who will pay for the new Aloha Stadium?

The New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District is being marketed as a public-private partnership (P3), meaning the selected developer will combine public funds with the resources of private development businesses to flexibly leverage the best of both the public and private sectors. 

In July 2019, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed Act 268, which allocated $350 million for the Aloha Stadium renovation project. $20 million was general funds. $180 million was revenue bonds and $150 million was general obligation bonds to build the new stadium. Revenue bonds are backed by a specific source of income, and interest and principal are expected to be repaid, meaning that NASED is expected to generate income upon completion, and the millions allocated by the government must be returned with that income.

• $150 million in direct investment from the State of Hawaii for the stadium project.
• Expected economic impact of $1,000 million

However, funding for Aloha Stadium has stalled. In 2020, Hawaii Senate Bill 2940, which would have created a special stadium development fund, died in the House. To move forward with work on Aloha Stadium, DAGS got creative by asking the Hawaii Community Development Authority board to request $10 million from Governor Ige in January 2021 to complete the environmental study, request for proposal process, and successfully transition the project. private development. At the time of writing, there was hope that the governor would approve the $10 million request despite the state’s economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2021, the State of Hawaii said cost estimates for replacing the stadium had increased to $423 million. The idea now is that the state could lease 78 acres to a private developer to create a new residential and commercial development that would generate revenue for the state, offsetting the cost of building a new stadium and hopefully minimizing the increase in the tax rate for the development new stadium. Aloha Stadium on the island of Oahu.

“What we expect is a mix of residential, retail and entertainment, hotels, (and) some offices because we would also like it to be a place to live, play and thrive as well as a place to work.” said Stacy Jones, senior principal at Crawford Architects.

Is Aloha Stadium open for Swap Meet?

The exchange at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium is an enticing event for visitors and Hawaii residents alike, and it is said to continue despite possible construction. Aloha Stadium is open for COVID-19 vaccinations on Sundays and is also open for Swap Meet with many booths selling local produce, trinkets, crafts and delicious food on those days:

• Wednesday from 8:00 to 15:00
• Saturday from 8:00 to 15:00
• Sunday from 6:30 to 15:00

Options for a new Aloha Stadium

NASED officials attended community and community meetings in 2019 and early 2020, sharing concept drawings of what Oahu’s new stadium could look like. These different options show how different locations for a new Aloha Stadium could spark different developments around it. Developers and design teams will explore these and other options before finalizing the ideal design for the new Aloha Stadium.

In all scenarios, stadium games, events and exchanges are expected to continue without interruption.