Thursday morning's Stadium Authority meeting at Aloha Stadium began with monthly updates from stadium manager Ryan Andrews.
Preparations are underway for the 2025 Great Aloha Run on Feb. 17, a race that begins at Aloha Tower and ends at Aloha Stadium. Andrews also briefed meeting attendees on a successful fireworks amnesty event earlier in the month in which over 1,000 pounds of unused fireworks were returned.
Andrews then slid in another update: He's resigning, effective Friday.
Come Monday, Andrews will be the University of Hawai‘i's new director of recreational services.
Stadium Authority chair Brennon Morioka said during the meeting that UH has agreed to let Andrews help "as much as reasonably possible" through June. By then, the hope is for a contract between the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) and Aloha Hālawa District Partners (AHDP) to be executed.
Andrews became the stadium's manager following former manager Scott Chan's retirement in 2021. To Andrews, the decision comes at a time where he's able to jump back into his preferred line of work.
"My goal was always to get to June of 2025 because that's when the contracts were in place. I guess it was September of 2024 I saw the job posting for the rec director position," Andrews told Aloha State Daily on Thursday. "And of course, I got very excited, because that's a job I held in the University of California system for 13 years, and it was my dream job. I moved to Hawai‘i hoping I could still stay in that world of recreation."
Aloha Stadium deputy manager Chris Sadayasu will step into the role of interim manager. Morioka said there isn't a rush to fill the position with Andrews and Sadayasu continuing to provide input towards the project.
"No real target date (on filling the position)," Morioka said. "But obviously, the sooner that we can kind of bring some certainty to what our organization is going to look like, the better.
"(Sadayasu) has been doing a great job in his role, really filling in on the procurement aspects, because he is an attorney by background, and so he has a lot of that experience on contracts, but also the fact that Ryan will continue to provide support through the execution of the contract, that helps provide some level of relief for us in terms of having to fill the position. ... This is a good opportunity for us to kind of take a step back and see what the role of the head of this agency needs to be or should look like."
In a Monday appearance on KHON2, Gov. Josh Green expressed the desire to receive more than the allotted $400 million ($350 million towards construction and $50 million for planning) budget towards NASED, a sentiment Andrews was agreeable to when asked on Thursday, citing inflation.
"We need more money," Andrews said. "I was thrilled to hear that. I think that's what this project needs, an infusion of money. Obviously, we've tried to stay true in not asking for additional funds for the state. We were told 350 is all you get. It would have been great back when it was given to us originally in 2019 to build something, but things are different and it costs more. We've had inflation, especially after COVID, $350 million doesn't build you much, so we need that money. I'm excited to see the outcome. It sounds optimistic, but I'm not involved in those talks about that."
Thursday's Stadium Authority meeting was the first of 2025. The target goal for the new Aloha Stadium remains to be fully operational in time for the 2028 college football season.
"If we can get this contract done in June, I think it's doable," Andrews said. "I think as long as we can get the contracts by June, 2028, is still realistic. Of course, anything can change when they start building, right? You find something on the ground or, you know, something can delay it. But I'm still cautiously optimistic that can happen."
Added Morioka: "Being where we are, this is the furthest we've ever been in this project. That's why there is a lot of urgency in ensuring that we stick to the schedule to execute a contract by the summer, and that helps us maintain that schedule to target a fall of 2028 opening for the University of Hawai‘i's football game against Kansas (on Aug. 26)."
Since 2021, the University of Hawai‘i football team has played its football games at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the UH-Mānoa campus, a makeshift stadium featuring a seating capacity of 15,194. Andrews has been to a handful of games there, which has only added to his desire to see NASED come to fruition.
"I've had two, three different experiences. I've had one in the suites which were really nice, I gotta say, I enjoyed their air conditioned suites. And then I've had the rest of them were in the stands, and it's rough. I think the experience there is actually fantastic. I think they've done a really good job in creating kind of an exciting atmosphere," Andrews said. "But of course, it's hard to be sitting in bleachers that are that tight. If you have to use the bathroom, I go to the baseball stadium and use those restrooms, which are nice, but it's a walk.
"It's a Division I program. They need a facility they can call home that's at the level they deserve, so we need to get this done."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
