JD doesn't rule out a football game on Maui

MN = Maui News

MN Note: "The Warriors were on Maui for the seventh of their 15 spring practices, their first Valley Isle appearance since a 30-12 win over Montana on Sept. 8, 2001, in the season opener. Donovan said that Maui will likely host a scrimmage every two or three years."

Asked if they could have a Warrior game on Maui, JD said:
''I won't rule it out. I learned a long time ago, never say 'for sure' because there is almost always an in-between. You can make things happen if things come together.'' (MN)

MN Note: "Donovan was delighted with the turnout of about 3,000 fans on Saturday."

About having UH Athletics reach out to the neighbor islands, JD said:
''When I got the job, one of the things I said when I was interviewed was that we are the state of Hawaii's team and there is a need for us to reach out. I was actually talking to (Maui state) Senator Shan Tsutsui. He had said, 'Gosh, you guys haven't done anything on Maui since the Montana game.' So I went to talk to a few teams, I talked to softball and I talked to volleyball to see if there was anything they could do this spring over here. Schedule-wise they couldn't swing it, but I asked (football) coach (Greg McMackin), 'Hey, if I can swing some sponsors can you guys do a scrimmage and autograph session?' He thought it was a great idea, so here we are.'' (MN)

MN Note: "UH played Montana after then-coach June Jones was told War Memorial Stadium had 20,000 seats. The actual number of bleacher seats is 15,500, and the official attendance listed in the UH media guide for that game is 12,863. A turnstile count that day was 11,234, and the stadium appeared full."

About how UH lost money by playing Montana on Maui, JD said:
''I wouldn't rule out that absolutely we would never have another game here. It is just that economically it really did bottom-line effect us when we did it against Montana. It is something that, as time goes on, maybe we can look at. Maybe getting more temporary seats in here and maybe boosting the actual attendance here at War Memorial. It is possible that we could look at it for another Division I-AA team, but I am not going to promise.'' (MN)

MN Note: "Donovan said the UH athletic department is not in position to vacate the payout it can generate from a home game at Aloha Stadium. The school usually plays a seven-game home schedule, but if an eighth game ever popped onto the slate, Maui could be the site."

About how they get about $500k per game just from season ticket sales, JD said:
''We sell about 27,000 to 28,000 season tickets. And so we give that up for one game when we come over here and that is a big hit, about $500,000 right off the top. We have got to make that up with ticket sales over here and we didn't against Montana.'' (MN)

About how War Memorial Stadium could be expanded, JD said:
''You can legitimately get about 12,000 to 14,000 in here right now. When you get real people in there, I remember people sitting on the steps for the Montana game. There is still a lot of space where we could potentially put more people, so I am just saying, it is not impossible, but it will have to definitely take some massaging before we could pull it off. I would think we would have to get to a realistic total of 20,000 seats in here and maybe some way to overflow it to 22,000 or 23,000 for standing room only. If you can get up to those numbers with, like, a $20 ticket, you can get to the point where you can break even and it won't cost you money.'' (MN)

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