Halawa, where Aloha Stadium is located, would be the best site for the facility’s potential replacement, according to a new study.
Aloha Stadium originally opened in 1975 and remains active for a variety of events, including concerts, the University of Hawaii at Manoa football program, and the annual Hawaiʻi Bowl. There have been discussions about replacing it with a more modern facility, however, and as part of that process Crawford Architects was commissioned to conduct an Alternate Site Analysis study.
The newly released report considered six sites, ranking Halawa as the top option for a potential Aloha Stadium replacement. Officials envision the new stadium as an anchor for mixed-use development, but that idea is not final, as work on an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is just getting underway. More from KHON 2:
“Halawa already has Aloha Stadium as a venue, so really all the infrastructure for a stadium is already there,” said Stacey Jones, senior partner and principal for Crawford Architects.
The scoring criteria was based on potential development costs, economic impact and the availability of infrastructure. The analysis found that the existing Aloha Stadium site in Halawa scored highest while the former Kalaeloa Airport scored lowest….
The EIS will ultimately decide how many seats and how big the new stadium will be.
Lawmakers want to see more than just a standalone stadium.
The EIS is expected to take 12-18 months to complete. Aloha Stadium was a long-time home for the NFL Pro Bowl, which has been played at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium in recent years. It will be the site of an NFL preseason game later this year, with the Los Angeles Rams hosting the Dallas Cowboys on August 17.
Image courtesy Aloha Stadium.
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