Aloha Stadium
| Aloha Stadium | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Halawa, Honolulu County, Hawaii |
| Coordinates | 21°22′22″N 157°55′48″W / 21.37278°N 157.93000°WCoordinates: 21°22′22″N 157°55′48″W / 21.37278°N 157.93000°W |
| Opened | September 12, 1975 [1] |
| Owner | State of Hawaii |
| Operator | Stadium Authority, State of Hawaii |
| Surface | Astroturf (1975–2002) FieldTurf (2003–2011) [2] UBU Sports Speed S5-M (2011–present) |
| Construction cost | US$37 million[3] |
| Architect | The Luckman Partnership, Inc.[4] |
| Capacity | 50,000[5] |
| Field dimensions | Baseball Left Field – 325ft Center Field – 420ft Right Field – 325ft |
| Tenants | |
| Hawaii Warriors (NCAA) (1975–present) Hawaii Islanders (PCL) (1976–1987) Team Hawaii (NASL) (1977) Pro Bowl (NFL) (1980–2009, 2011-present) Hula Bowl (NCAA) (1975–1997, 2006–2008) The Hawaiians (WFL) (1975) Aloha Bowl (NCAA) (1982–2000) Oahu Bowl (NCAA) (1998–2000) Hawaiʻi Bowl (NCAA) (2002–present) American Idol (2004) St. Louis Crusaders (ILH) Pac-5 Wolf Pack (ILH) OIA Division I & II Championships HHSAA Division I & II State Championships (1999–present) Pan-Pacific Championship (2008–2009) Hawaiian Islands Invitational (2012–present) |
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Aloha Stadium also known as Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in Halawa,[6] Hawaii, located just outside Honolulu. Aloha Stadium is currently home to the University of Hawaiʻi Warriors football team (Mountain West Conference, NCAA Division I FBS). It hosts the NCAA's Hawai'i Bowl, and has also been home to the National Football League's Pro Bowl since 1980 (except in 2010) and the NCAA's Hula Bowl from 1975 to 1997 and again in 2006. It also hosts numerous high school football games during the season, and serves as a venue for large concerts and events. A swap meet in the stadium's parking lot every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday draws large crowds.[7] Aloha Stadium once served as home field for the AAA Hawaiʻi Islanders of the Pacific Coast League from 1975 to 1987 before the team moved to Colorado Springs.
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History [edit]
Located west of downtown Honolulu and two miles north of Honolulu International Airport, Aloha Stadium was built in 1975 at a cost of $37 million. It was built as a replacement for the aging Honolulu Stadium on King Street, demolished in 1976.
The first sporting event ever held at Aloha Stadium was a football game played between the University of Hawaii and Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) on September 13, 1975. The crowd was 32,247.[8]
Aloha Stadium could be reconfigured into various configurations for different sport venues and other purposes, and was the first stadium in the United States with this capability. Four movable sections, each 3.5 million pounds[5] and with a capacity of 7,000, could move using air casters into a diamond configuration for baseball (also used for soccer), an oval for football, or a triangle for concerts. A 2005 study by Honolulu engineering firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. determined that the stadium required $99 million to be completely restored and an additional $115 million for ongoing maintenance and refurbishment over the next 20 years to extend its useful life.[9] In January 2007, the stadium was permanently locked into its football configuration, because of cost and maintenance issues.[10] An engineer from Rolair Systems, the NASA spin-off company that engineered the system,[11] claims that the problem was caused by a concrete contractor that ignored specifications for the concrete pads under the stadium.[12]
There have been numerous discussions with Hawaii lawmakers who are concerned with the physical condition of the stadium. There are several issues regarding rusting of the facility, several hundred seats that need to be replaced, and restroom facilities that need to be expanded to accommodate more patrons.[3] Much of the rust is due to a design flaw in the weathering steel used to build the stadium. It was intended to create a protective patina that would eliminate the need for painting. However, in the ocean salt-laden air of Honolulu, it has never stopped rusting.
In early 2007, the state legislature proposed to spend $300 million to build a new facility as opposed to spending approximately $216 million to extend the life of Aloha Stadium for another 20–30 years. The new stadium may also be used to attempt to lure a Super Bowl to Hawaii in the future.[13]
One council member has said that if immediate repairs are not made within the next seven years, then the stadium will probably have to be demolished due to safety concerns. In May 2007, the state alloted $12.4 million to be used towards removing corrosion and rust from the structure.[14]
Expansion and improvements [edit]
In 2003, the stadium surface was changed from AstroTurf (which had been in place since the stadium opened) to FieldTurf.[2] up until 2011.
In July 2011 the field was upgraded to UBU Sports Speed S5-M synthetic turf system that features the exclusive Removable Active Panel system as part of the multimillion dollar renovation to Aloha Stadium. The synthetic turf system covers 110,000 sq ft and has 22 Removable Active Panel's located in 7 locations. The RAP's have inlaid logos for the University of Hawaii and Aloha Bowl as well as blank panels to accommodate the NFL Pro Bowl and NCAA Bowl Games that will be custom painted for each event.
In 2008, the state of Hawaii approved the bill of $185 million to refurbish the aging Aloha Stadium.[15] In 2010, Aloha Stadium completely retrofitted its scoreboard and video screen to be more up to date with its high definition capability. The Aloha Stadium Authority plans to add more luxury suites, replacing all seats, rusting treatments, parking lots, more restrooms, pedestrian bridge supports, enclosed lounge, and more. There is also a proposal that would close the 4 opening corners of the stadium to add more seats.
In 2011, the playing field was refurbished in part due to a naming rights sponsorship from Hawaiian Airlines. As a result of the sponsorship deal, the field is now referred to as Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.[16]
Events [edit]
In 1997, a three-game regular season series between Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres was held at the stadium.[17] The series was played as a doubleheader on April 19 and a nationally broadcast (ESPN) game on April 20. In 1975, the Padres had played an exhibition series against the Seibu Lions of Japan's Pacific League.
- The Police in their final US concert on their Synchronicity Tour on February 25, 1984.
- Michael Jackson's HIStory World Tour on January 3–4, 1997 - his only US shows that decade. He was the first person to sell out Aloha Stadium.
- Whitney Houston ended her Pacific Rim Tour with a sold-out concert on May 28, 1997.
- The Rolling Stones during their Bridges To Babylon Tour on January 23–24, 1998.
- Mariah Carey ended her Butterfly World Tour with a sold-out concert on February 21, 1998.
- Celine Dion on her Let's Talk About Love Tour on February 12, 1999.
- Janet Jackson's All for You Tour in 2002, which was broadcast on HBO as well as her 1999 Velvet Rope World Tour which broke stadium attendance records. The capacity for her 1999 show was expanded from the original capacity of 35,000 to 38,000 to meet the high ticket demand.
- U2's final stop on their Vertigo Tour on December 9, 2006.
- Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw on their Brothers of the Sun Tour in 2011.
- Taylor Swift on her Speak Now World Tour in 2011 as well as her upcoming Red Tour.
- Beyoncé will come with her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in August 2013.
Aloha Stadium hosted the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship (February 20–23, 2008), a knockout soccer tournament, involving four teams from Japan's J-League, North America's Major League Soccer (MLS) and Australia/New Zealand's A-League.[18]
Aloha Stadium is also the venue for five public high school graduation ceremonies. Radford High School, Mililani High School, Aiea High School, James Campbell High School, and Pearl City High School hold their graduation ceremony at the stadium in early June.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Aloha Stadium facts, alohastadium.hawaii.gov/
- ^ a b Masuoka, Brandon (2003-04-29). "Aloha Stadium surface will be of NFL quality". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ a b Gima, Craig (2006-01-27). "Stadium corrosion creates a $129M safety concern". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ Muschamp, Herbert (1999-01-28). "Charles Luckman, Architect Who Designed Penn Station's Replacement, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ a b Hawaii Athletics facility description page, uhathletics.hawaii.edu
- ^ "Halawa CDP, Hawaii." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 21, 2009.
- ^ "Hawaii's premier Aloha Stadium Swap Meet an Outdoor Market in Hawaii|Aloha Outdoor Market, Flea Markets and Swap meet for shopping in Honolulu". Alohastadiumswapmeet.net. 1975-09-12. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
- ^ Aloha Stadium Swap Meet "About Us" page, alohastadiumswapmeet.net
- ^ "Stadium rust to get $12.4M treatment". The Honolulu Advertiser. 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2009-07-16.
- ^ Masuoka, Brandon (2006-07-28). "Aloha Stadium losing baseball configuration". The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ "Convertible Stadium". NASA. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
- ^ Kieding, Bob (2012). "Moving Seats". Popular Science (Wright's Media) (October): 8.
- ^ Reardon, Dave (2006-04-03). "Super Dreams: Bringing the 50th Super Bowl to the 50th state would be costly". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ Arakawa, Lynda (2007-05-11). "Stadium rust to get $12.4M treatment". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ Masuoka, Brandon (2008-06-27). "Hawaii stadium to get $185M overhaul; UH expands pay-per-view package". Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, HI, USA: Black Press). ISSN 1072-7191. OCLC 8807414. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 2013-02-04.
- ^ Hawaiian Airlines Grabs Naming Rights To Aloha Stadium Field; SponsorPitch; 08-04-2011
- ^ Arnett, Paul and Yuen, Mike (1997-02-25). "Padres, Cardinals to play in Hawaii". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
- ^ Carlos Alvarez-Galloso, Roberto (2007-12-26). "2008 Pan-Pacific Championship: Make it more inclusive". MeriNews. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aloha Stadium |
- Official site for Aloha Stadium
- Official site for Aloha Stadium Swap Meet
- Aloha Stadium - University of Hawaiʻi Athletics Dept.
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of the Hawaiʻi Bowl 2002–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Sun Life Stadium |
Host of the NFL Pro Bowl 1980 – 2009 2011 – 2012 |
Succeeded by Sun Life Stadium TBD |
| Preceded by first stadium |
Host of the Pan-Pacific Championship 2008 |
Succeeded by Home Depot Center |
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- College football venues
- Hawaii Warriors football
- NCAA bowl game venues
- High school football venues in the United States
- Minor league baseball venues
- Sports in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Buildings and structures in Honolulu, Hawaii
- American football venues in Hawaii
- Soccer venues in Hawaii
- Sports venues completed in 1975
- Visitor attractions in Honolulu, Hawaii
