The Stadium Authority marked the beginning of the Environmental Impact Statement and master planning process for a new proposed Aloha Stadium.
Crawford Architects was behind an Alternative Site Analysis study, which was released today.
Since October, stakeholders and Crawford Architects had been surveying several locations for the new stadium—but in the end, Halawa came out on top.
It came down to six locations—Halawa, UH Manoa, UH West Oahu, Ala Wai Golf Course, Kapiolani Regional Park and Kalaeloa.
Each location was ranked based on several categories with 100 being a perfect rank.
“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.
Crawford Architects is behind a few big projects including the new Vikings Stadium, Seattle Seahawks’ Centurylink Field, Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field and Camden Yards, home to the Baltimore Orioles.
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.
“Long gone are the days where you have the standalone football stadium,” said Sen. Glenn Wakai (D) Kalihi, Salt Lake, Pearl Harbor. “The stadiums of the future and now involve mix-use and the stadium itself is more than just a football stadium.”
Ideas for expanding the stadium include adding restaurants, hotels, shopping centers and more all within walking distance.
“I’m pretty confident we’re going to score a touchdown at the end of this session and have $350 million available for us to really re-think and re-do that entire area,” said Sen. Wakai.
He says construction should begin shortly after the EIS is complete
“…and best case scenario, in five years we’ll have a brand new stadium,” Sen. Wakai said.
The EIS is expected to be completed in 12 to 18 months to complete.
