Green announces new direction for Aloha Stadium, surrounding entertainment district

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. Josh Green on Thursday announced a new direction for Aloha Stadium and the surrounding entertainment district, delivering the project as one public-private partnership.

Under the new plan, the developer will design and build a new stadium using state and private funds.

Previously, the project — also called the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District — was broken up into two contracts: one for the stadium and the other for the surrounding development.

After months of analysis, Gov. Green said the two-project approach “required the state to assume an undesirable amount of risk regarding ongoing funding.”

The developer will now be able to develop a portion of the surrounding district into a mixed-use development in line with the state’s vision.

The developer will also have a right to use revenue from this to help subsidize construction of the new stadium and fund ongoing operation and maintenance costs over the life of the contract.

The new approach uses the current appropriation of $400 million and transfers the responsibility of long-term funding and cost overruns to the private sector. That should, in turn, reduce the risk of financial burden on Hawaii taxpayers.

The existing procurement processes have been canceled.

The target opening date for the new Aloha Stadium will be in time for the 2028 UH football season.

This story will be updated.

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