Contractors sought for ambitious Aloha Stadium project

Article posted by Coliseum, April 14^th, 2020

Image: Aloha Stadium

A Request for Qualifications has been issued by the State of Hawaii in US for contractors interested in bidding on Phase One of the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) at Honolulu in Hawaii.

The New Oahu Stadium will be more than just a stadium – but the project is called the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) and has plans for a live, work, and play community for both Hawaii residents and visitors to the island.

The project will be delivered through the public-private partnership (PPP) mode and the first five years of work will cover a replacement stadium and ancillary commercial mixed-use development.

The present Aloha Stadium which sits at Halawa in Hawaii can sit 50,000 spectators.

The Phase 1A of the project will include knocking down the current 50,000-seat stadium; design, construction, financing and maintenance of a new 35,000-seat stadium due to open its doors in August 2023.

The stadium portion of the entire development is estimated to open in time for the University of Hawaii’s September 2023 home football season opener and the State is making up to $350 million available for the construction of the facility.

The work will also include infrastructure, including roads, parking, public spaces and utilities, as well as connections to the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) system.

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) is a semi-autonomous public transit authority responsible for the planning, construction, operation, maintenance, and expansion of the city’s fixed guideway system.

Phase 1B will include 20,000ft2 of retail and entertainment space, up to 700 residences, 75,000ft2 and 240 hotel rooms.

Chris Kinimaka, Public Works Administrator for the State Department of Accounting and General Services, gushed, “We’re very pleased with the level of interest we have received from experienced developers and construction industry experts about the (RFQ) document. This bodes well for the NASED project and its prospects for identifying a highly qualified P3 partner. I anticipate we’ll have a strong pool of companies to consider for receipt of the request for proposal (RFP), which is the next step in the process.”

Aloha Stadium rewind

Long-time home of the National Football League’s (NFL) Pro Bowl, the Aloha Stadium which opened in September 12, 1975, has hosted famous artistes like Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson, and is the venue for the popular Swap Meet. The Aloha Stadium has been the high point of Oahu in Hawaii for more than 40 years. When it was first built, it was a futuristic facility with four moveable sections, allowing the 50,000-seat stadium to be configured to a football, soccer, or baseball field.

Now, the Aloha Stadium is slowly getting dilapidated, code non-compliance, and lack of amenities. The State of Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) published reports showing the current stadium needs $300 million in health and safety repairs and another $121 million for the stadium to be compliant with ADA laws.

The Aloha Stadium Timeline:

Summer 2020– Master planning process completed;
Summer 2020 – Request for Proposals (RFPs) accepted to secure a pool of developer-led teams, from which a developer will be selected to build the stadium;
Summer 2021– Construction begins;
Fall 2023 – The New Aloha Stadium opens in time for the football season; and
2033-2038 – The full build-out of the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District is expected to have several phases, which will be completed over the next 10 to 15 years after the new Aloha Stadium Opens.

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