Sports Radio Service


		Aloha to Aloha Stadium? By Morris Phillips January 28, 2012

	It appears that paradise has a problem; should Hawaii retain the Pro Bowl or is it time for the 50th state pull the plug and save the money? Complicating the matter is the NFL and Roger Goodell, who has expressed concerns about the aging, worn condition of 37-year old Aloha Stadium. Not content to just take the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s $4 million annually to stage the game in Honolulu, Commissioner Goodell also is demanding that the dated facility receive much-needed upgrades. The NFL has brought its superstar showcase to the big Island in 31 of the previous 32 seasons with the one exception being the 2010 Pro Bowl held in Miami the week before the Super Bowl in the same city. The Pro Bowl/Super Bowl model makes sense as staging both events on consecutive weekends gives the All-Star event a boost in relevance. With the Super Bowls to be held in New Orleans and Phoenix the next two years, it’s expected that the NFL will return to the Miami model and stage both events in the same city. Adding to the sense that this will be Hawaii’s final Pro Bowl is the fact that ongoing negotiations between the state and the NFL for next year’s game are sluggish. No announcement is expected this week one way or the other, which of course, will make it easier for the NFL to head in another direction once everyone’s left town this year. The players remain the wild card in this standoff. They are pro-Hawaii, love the location for jumpstarting an off-season of healing for their injured bodies, while their families trumpet Hawaii as the ultimate family vacation spot. Two years ago in Miami, eligible players stayed away in big numbers—citing nagging injuries—taking much of the steam from the game. The Pro Bowl always suffers from player cancellations that highlight the lack of importance surrounding the game. Moving the game from Hawaii probably would exacerbate that problem. Ultimately, the issues surrounding Aloha Stadium likely will be deciding factor. The state of Hawaii manages to pony up millions to guarantee that Honolulu hotels will be full and the city’s attractions well attended in late January, but can’t seem to perform the same magic for the stadium. Aloha Stadium opened in 1975 as a dual purpose facility for University of Hawaii football and minor league AAA baseball. Over the years, the facility’s trademark moving stands stopped moving due to escalating costs for maintenance and millions of dollars in upgrades have done little to hide the rust and the deteriorating seats. For the NFL, all of that may be forgivable, but a stadium without luxury boxes is not. Also the stadium sits in the shadow of Pearl Harbor, 10 miles from Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu, which doesn’t work logistically for the NFL, which over the years has seen its hometown facilities replaced with modern, sporting palaces ideal for entertaining the nation’s biggest—read richest—football enthusiasts. Still, Aloha Stadium’s history is an interesting one. Built in 1975 for $37 million, the stadium spent its first 12 years hosting minor league baseball, Hawaii football and ultimately the Pro Bowl and numerous high profile concerts. The stadium—consisting of six moving grandstands—had three primary configurations depending on what event was taking place. And while the stadium was a success for UH football, the Pro Bowl and numerous high-profile touring musical acts, it didn’t work quite as well for baseball. The AAA Islanders were initially known for the talented, independently-built teams, healthy attendance figures and their young and upcoming broadcasters (Harry Kalas, Hank Greenwald and Al Michaels). But in 1987, the team’s attendance plummeted and the Islanders finished last in the Pacific Coast League. With travel to Hawaii becoming too costly for other minor league affiliates, the decision was made to move the team to Colorado Springs, where they remain to this day. Without baseball and its healthy gates, the viability of the stadium decreased dramatically. Now the stadium is best known for what it could be: a host to an NFL franchise in Honolulu, a Super Bowl destination or a viable home for the University of Hawaii Rainbows in the future. But all of those scenarios involve major renovations and millions of dollars the state of Hawaii doesn’t have. What does not dissipate are the picturesque vistas from the stadium’s often-pictured open walkways. But of course, on game day those same walkways will scare anyone when they sway dramatically when a healthy crowd starts to make noise.