Stadium Authority to hold special meeting on New Aloha Stadium

HONOLULU (KHON2) — In a continuing saga, the fate of Aloha Stadium hangs in the balance.

On Wednesday, the Stadium Authority will hold a special meeting to discuss Gov. Josh Green’s new plan for the project. The meeting will be the authority’s first since Gov. Green announced he’s changing the project to a 25,000-seat venue with a design-build and management model.

Community involvement in the new Aloha Stadium began four years ago with meetings and input at neighborhood boards.

Chace Shigemasa, the Aliamanu/Salt Lake/Foster Village Neighborhood Board Chair, spoke about the community’s excitement when they were asked for their opinions.

“National Association of State Election Directors came to the community — what do you want to see, what do you think we should have?” said Shigemasa. “Lots of space on the parcels that we want to make this something that you want, and that really excited the community, I feel”

Shigemasa also spoke about the community’s desire to limit housing in the area, which is a big need in our islands, and something the governor wants to include in the project.

“The neighborhood board brought a resolution that we don’t want to see any more than 3,000 units in that area,” said Shigemasa. “So the community is susceptible to some type of development with housing, but not a community of tens of thousands of units.”

Claire Tamamoto, Aloha Stadium Authority member, and President of the Aiea Community Association, is hoping that the work done already won’t be lost and that the project will still integrate the community’s input.

“We can’t have another stadium that cannot repair itself, that is dependent on maintenance money that never comes,” said Tamamoto.

Tamamoto also spoke about the importance of conserving water, especially after the Red Hill disaster.

“We talked about reusing our water or sewer water within the entity using some other water so that they can use non-potable water for landscaping,” said Tamamoto.

The community and stakeholders also want to see the project completed on time, with the new target date set for 2027.

“We definitely, as a community, don’t want to see this project get delayed anymore,” said Shigemasa.

The special meeting is Wednesday at 8:30 am. A link to watch can be found here.