Due to the results of House Bill 300, $49.5 million of funding allocated towards developing the New Aloha Stadium and Entertainment District (NASED) will no longer be accessible.
The legislature recently moved House Bill 1494 and Senate Bill 1589, which may have allowed Aloha Stadium to get those funds, but interim manager Chris Sadayasu was not holding his breath.
"We still have an opportunity, if they schedule it for tomorrow, for that to move," Sadayasu told Aloha State Daily after Thursday morning's Stadium Authority meeting. "But we're not crossing our fingers. We're just not confident that they'll move forward."
Despite the latest hurdle in building the new Aloha Stadium, a preliminary development agreement (PDA) between the New Aloha Stadium and Entertainment District and Aloha Halawa District Partners, the developer of the project, was signed on March 31. A June 30 deadline between NASED and AHDP to execute a contract remains on track. Sadayasu called the PDA "definitely a step in the right direction."
Sadayasu says the hope is for demolition to begin promptly after the contract between NASED and AHDP is executed.
"We continue to to negotiate the contract documents and we'll do our best to find a way to move the project forward and approach the legislature next year with a project underway, hopefully demolition, which would take 10 months, starting in August," he said. "By the time the next session opens in January 2026, we will have something demonstrable to say OK, we've moved forward to fulfill the intent of the legislature that appropriated funds back in 2022 that there is a project to move forward, and so let's get access to those funds."
In light of the $49.5 million shortage, NASED and AHDP are considering alternatives that could involve making the initial seating capacity 20,000, with room to add more seats in the future.
"We still have to sit down with the developer and figure out what opportunities they can do. We are discussing building a stadium that can be then retrofitted...maybe the seating capacity goes down," Sadayasu said, "and then you just plan for building future (seats) when additional funds come available. So, that's still to be determined."
Gov. Josh Green has continued to seek additional funding for the stadium, with costs expected to increase due to inflation and tariffs.
"He continues to discuss and pitch philanthropists," Sadayasu said of Green. "We're always open and willing, and that's why we're trying to make sure that the stadium design and construction allows for expansion should those additional funds come in."
As the June 30 deadline to execute a contract approaches, Sadayasu remains hopeful that a process years in the making will culminate with the start of a new one. The goal remains to have a new stadium ready by the start of the 2028 college football season.
"I think we've done a good job and we appreciate everybody's support for the project. I read concerns that this is another rail project, and they're like, do we have plans? We have a reputable developer, and so we're excited to bring a project to fruition," he said.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
