HĀLAWA — After a special meeting on Aug. 13 that was highlighted by the announcement of new plans for Aloha Stadium, the Stadium Authority met for its regular monthly meeting on Thursday morning.
The swift meeting included brief updates from University of Hawai‘i athletics director Matt Elliott, as well as an announcement in Stadium Authority membership, with Moanalua High School Athletics director Joel Kawachi replacing Brennon Morioka as a member.
New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) program director David Harris spoke in the meeting, giving an update on where things stand towards building a new stadium. As previously stated, construction will not begin until demolition is complete. Although initial projections had demolition beginning at the end of August, the new target is sometime in September or October.
NASED secured the two permits it needed from the City and County of Honolulu, a process that Stadium Authority chair Eric Fujimoto says was smooth by all accounts.
Early 2026 is the new projected date for when steel from the current Aloha Stadium will begin to get taken down. Dismantling was the key word mentioned by Fujimoto, with the current Aloha Stadium set to go down piece by piece. Aloha Hālawa District Partners will organize fencing around the stadium during the demolition process and put up materials such as dust screens.
A pair of documents between NASED and AHDP that served as the basis for the special meeting earlier in the month are "currently under administrative review for signature," Fujimoto said, and are expected to be signed in the coming days. One is the stadium and operation agreement itself, while the other is a 30-year stadium ground lease agreement.
Another pair of documents that make up the four documents that need to be signed between NASED and AHDP are the master development agreement and reciprocal easement agreements for the Hālawa lot, as AHDP still plans to build a surrounding entertainment district surrounding the stadium. Fujimoto says NASED and AHDP continue to meet weekly.
"The one thing that I've been very supportive of is the collaboration that's been in the room to get us to this point," Fujimoto said. "All stakeholders involved have been so collaborative. ... The momentum that's being built is pretty exciting. AHDP has been very conscious of the importance of demolition, as proven by the teamwork that we've done with the city to get permitting done in a pretty efficient manner
"We have one or two dedicated permitting people to continue on with future requests. Materials have been ordered. Pretty significant (materials) are currently on island now, the dust screens and all of this mitigation. Things will start to go up September and October. That's what I feel is just psychologically, a huge win for the community."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
