New Aloha Stadium agreement in final stages

The agreement on a proposed 98-acre mixed-use development in Honolulu that would include a new 25,000-seat stadium is being reviewed by lawyers ahead of a self-imposed Aug. 15 deadline.

The state's contract agreement with the Aloha Halawa District Partners, the developer of the New Aloha Stadium and Entertainment District (NASED) project, initially featured a June 30 deadline. But if the Aloha Stadium Authority votes to ratify the contract by mid-August as expected, demolition on the 50-year-old Aloha Stadium that has been closed since 2020 could begin by the end of the month.

The state has appropriated $400 million for the new Aloha Stadium that will serve as the new home for the University of Hawaii football team and the Hawaii Bowl, according to the Sports Business Journal. The full stadium project is estimated to cost as much as $650 million, with the difference being paid by NASED with revenues generated from its development of the rest of the 98-acre site.

"We've never been this close to executing an actual contract," University of Hawaii Engineering School dean Brennon Morioka told the SBJ.

The developer's timeline is to have the new stadium ready for the football team's home opener in 2028, though SBJ reports that tariff issues are "unsettling" budget and construction plans. The stadium also is being designed to host additional events such as concerts and soccer and rugby matches that the current Aloha Stadium was not built for. The current site already hosts swap meets and markets.

"It's not just a stadium, so it's not just an infrastructure project, and it's not just a development project," Morioka told the SBJ. "It's a combination of the two and the two are very much tied together, so we have four or five different agreements that all get combined into the single contract. And when you make one change in one agreement, it has trickle-down effects in multiple agreements, so just making sure the consistency is there. That's part of what's taking us a little bit longer."

--Field Level Media