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Honolulu, Hawaii // USA | Home to: Hawaii Rainbow Warriors NCAA I-A - WAC // College Football | Hosted: Pro Bowl 1980 to date // American Football

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Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the ʻAiea community of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaiʻi Warriors football team (Western Athletic Conference, NCAA Division I FBS). It has also been home to the National Football League’s Pro Bowl since 1980 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 weekend draws large crowds. 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.

Capacity 50,000
Opened September 12, 1975
Owner State of Hawaii
Operator Stadium Authority, State of Hawaii
Surface FieldTurf
Location 99-500 Salt Lake Blvd
Honolulu, HI 96818
Construction cost $37 million USD

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 intended 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&M on September 13, 1975. The crowd was 32,247.

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 and with a capacity of 7,000, could move using air cushions into a diamond configuration for baseball (also used for soccer), an oval for football, or a triangle for concerts. However, in January 2007, the stadium was permanently locked into its football configuration, citing cost and maintenance issues.

There have been numerous discussions with State of Hawaiʻi 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.

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 would also be used to lure a potential Super Bowl to Hawaiʻi in the near future, possibly for 2016.

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.

Expansion and Improvements

In 2003, the stadium surface was changed from AstroTurf (which had been in place since the stadium opened) to FieldTurf.

2008, the state of Hawaii approved the bill of $185 million to refurbish the aging Aloha Stadium. 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.

(source .. wikipedia) reproduced under GFDL

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Images


2008 Probowl 2008 Probowl 2008 Probowl

2008 Probowl 2008 Probowl

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Useful Links


The ACC.com - The Official website of the Atlantic Coast Conference
NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association website
The University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii Athletics

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