HW = Honolulu Weekly
About how the state is evaluating again if they should renovate Aloha Stadium or build a new stadium, Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan said:
"We are asking to have the 2005 Scope Assessment Study updated. The pertinent information will assist the governing body to make necessary financial decisions regarding the future of Aloha Stadium." (HW)
About how Aloha Stadium is competing for money among a lot of other capital-improvement needs, Sen. David Ige (Chairman of the Senate ways and Means Committee) said:
"If money is no object, building a modern stadium would make sense. But if it is going to cost several hundred million dollars, I would have a hard time justifying it against all the other needs." (HW)
About Aloha Stadium, Ige said that it is important to make the required:
"investments to keep the facility useful and functioning. Anything beyond repairs to address health and safety will have to be balanced against all other needs." (HW)
About how he hopes that Aloha Stadium officials will aggressively pursue a partnership with a private developer instead of rely on tax dollars when they have a $1 bil budget deficit, Rep. Marcus Oshiro said:
"We may have to have an honest and open discussion on the option of a public-private partnership. It is something we may want to pursue. Any amount of capital-improvement money spent on the stadium is money we will be taking away from the University of Hawaii, public school classrooms and state hospitals. But at this point, I will support plans to spend some money on repairs to address health and safety improvements at the stadium." (HW)
About how he called for the updated study on building a new stadium vs. renovating the stadium, Bruce Copps (interim director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services) said:
"It is something we are going to take a hard look at. I want to be able to look at the dollars and spend them wisely. Whether it's rebuilding or partnering, we are going to take a look at all of the options and make the right decision." (HW)
HW Note: "To that end, the beam-by-beam study from 2005 pegged the cost of building a new stadium at nearly $300 million. By comparison, it showed the cost of renovating the stadium exceeding $150 million. It also estimated that it would take at least 10 years to build a new stadium. Based on that outlook, state officials have said a new stadium would need to bring in $10 million more a year in revenue to pay the annual debt. At the moment, Aloha Stadium costs about $8 million annually to run, and generates between $7 million and $8 million a year."
About how they have focused their first rounds of Aloha Stadium renovation on health issues such as the new roof, Kevin Chong-Kee (Chair of the Aloha Stadium Authority) said:
"To this point, the best bang for our buck has been addressing the public health and safety repairs. With the return of the Pro Bowl and the University of Hawaii football program entering into the Mountain West Conference, it's time for the state to decide and address the needs of a 36-year-old stadium in these financially troubled times or to fund and build a new stadium." (HW)
About how the NFL is closely monitoring the repairs at Aloha Stadium, NFL Senior VP of Events Frank Supovitz said:
"The State of Hawaii has kept us well-informed on the plans for, and the renovations at, Aloha Stadium. We look forward to playing in an improved building this year and an even more improved one next year." (HW)
About how he thinks a new stadium should be built, Herman Stern (President of the Honolulu QB Club) said:
"I believe that we have to think big. In my opinion, we should build a new stadium and go after major national and international sports events that can be played here." (HW)
HW Note: "Across the country, cities are scrambling to get a bigger slice of an amateur sports pie estimated between $6.5 billion and $7 billion annually, says Don Schumacher, executive director of the National Association of Sports Commissions in Cincinnati. His organization was founded in 1992 with 15 sporting commissions and authorities. Now it is made up of more than 400 member organizations representing 300-plus cities competing for sporting events."
About the explosion in the amateur sports market, Schumacher said:
"This industry has gone from nothing to $7 billion in the last 20 years, and it keeps growing right through the recession. It's not going to go away because the competitions need to take place." (HW)
About how he doesn't think that just repairing Aloha Stadium would bring in a lot of major sporting events, Oshiro said:
"I am not completely sold on the notion that if you fix up the stadium, major sports events will come rushing in. I am doubtful that alone will draw more national sports events here." (HW)
About how the struggling economy makes it hard to come up with the money to build a new stadium now, Brandt Farias (Executive VP of marketing and communications at First Hawaiian Bank, the largest advertiser at Aloha Stadium) said:
"While many would like to build a new stadium, I think that given the economic reality of the day, at least in the short term, renovating the existing facility is a prudent way to go." (HW)
About how he feels that it is a better use of tax dollars to build a new stadium than renovate Aloha Stadium, Lowell Kalapa (President of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii) said:
"It is a waste of taxpayer dollars to renovate the stadium. It's better to rebuild and start from scratch if it can be a revenue-producing property." (HW)
Asked for his position on the stadium debate, JD diplomatically stated:
"My preference is to do the most cost-effective solution. That is what we owe the taxpayers of Hawaii." (HW)
http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2011/01/aging-aloha-stadium-in-urgent-need-of-a-make-over/
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