HONOLULU (KHON2) — The future of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warrior football program is uncertain due to recent shakeups in the Mountain West conference. Some have said setbacks in rebuilding Aloha Stadium are to blame.
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The Aloha Stadium officially closed in 2021, with plans to have a new stadium built by 2023. After several false starts and fumbles, the rusty condemned facility still stands and the proposal for the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District still hasn’t been finalized.
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Hawaii Football analyst, Rich Miano, said it’s hurting the Rainbow Warriors.
“I think it has immediate effects, but it also has long-term effects in terms of Hawaii staying as a division one football program, and will the Mountain West continue to want Hawaii as a member?” Miano questioned.
Now that Pac-12 has poached four of the top teams in the Mountain West, Miano said the future of the program hangs in the balance.
“I think not having a stadium, not having a performance center, not having a legacy hall, not having a nutrition center, not having division one facilities and then the icing on the cake is not having a stadium,” he explained. “I think that has affected this program in terms of recruiting, in terms of financial resources, in terms of vision, leadership, in terms of future of this program and it’s not just football.”
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The good news according to the Stadium Authority chair is they are moving forward with the current proposal.
The proposal for the project was submitted in late July by Aloha Halawa Development Partners with final designs due by 2025, and the new stadium scheduled to open in summer 2028.
“We fully anticipate that the proposal will be able to accept it as being compliant. And because of that, we are already in the process of having some of the deeper conversations with Aloha Halawa Development Partners,” Morioka explained. “So actually, a little bit ahead of the game.”
Sen. Glenn Wakai, a staunch supporter of the NASED project said the state is pitching in several hundred million with AHDP covering all other costs.
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“Unlike the rail, which is a total abysmal money pit, this is a public-private partnership,” Wakai added. “The state is all in for $350 million not a dime more. So Stanford Carr delivers us a $600 to $700 million project, that’s on him.”