Aloha Stadium

About

Aloha Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Hālawa, Hawaii, a western suburb of Honolulu. Located just south of Aiea off the northeastern corner of Pearl Harbor next to the Kamehameha Highway, it was the largest stadium in the state of Hawaii. The stadium ceased fan-attended operations in December 2020, and demolition commenced in December 2025. It is set to be replaced by a 31,000-seat multi-purpose stadium that will be constructed on the same site. Aloha Stadium served as home to the University of Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors football team (Mountain West Conference, NCAA Division I FBS) for the 1975 through 2020 seasons. It also hosted college football's Hawaiʻi Bowl (2002–2019) and Hula Bowl (1976–1997, 2006–2008, 2020–2021), and formerly was home to the National Football League's Pro Bowl from 1980 through 2016 (except in 2010 and 2015). It also hosted numerous high school football games, and served as a venue for large concerts and events, including high school graduation ceremonies. The stadium was home field for the AAA Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1975 to 1987, before the team moved to Colorado Springs. Frequent swap meets in the stadium's parking lot often draw large crowds.

Before 1975, Honolulu's main outdoor stadium had been Honolulu Stadium, a wooden stadium on King Street. However, it had reached the end of its useful life by the 1960s, and was well below the standards for Triple-A baseball. The need for a new stadium was hastened by the move of the Hawaii Rainbows football program to NCAA Division I. Located west of downtown Honolulu and 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Honolulu International Airport, Aloha Stadium was constructed in 1975 at a cost of $37 million. Constructed of steel, the stadium was nicknamed the "Metal Mecca". As originally built, Aloha Stadium had various configurations for different sport venues and other purposes. Four movable 7,000-seat sections, each 3.5 million pounds (1,600,000 kg) could move using air casters into a diamond configuration for baseball (also used for soccer), an oval for football, or a triangle for concerts. The baseball field was aligned north-northwest (home plate to centerfield), as was the football field. The first sporting event at Aloha Stadium was a college football game between Hawaii and Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) on September 13, 1975. Played on Saturday night, the crowd was 32,247, and the visitors prevailed, 43–9. The final sporting event held in Aloha Stadium was the 2021 Hula Bowl. The last points scored at Aloha Stadium were a "pick 6" touchdown scored by Carlo Kemp of the University of Michigan.

The stadium was somewhat problematic for its initial primary tenant, the minor league baseball Hawaii Islanders. Located in south-central Oahu, it was far from the team's fan base in Mōʻiliʻili, and many were unwilling to make the drive. Additionally, while local public transportation (TheBus) stopped at the main gate of Honolulu Stadium, the stop for Aloha Stadium was located some distance from the gate. As a result, attendance plummeted and never really recovered—a major factor in the franchise's ultimate move to the mainland. Additionally, stadium management initially refused to allow the use of metal spikes on the AstroTurf. During a game in early May 1976, the starting pitcher for the Tacoma Twins, Bill Butler, wore metal spikes to comply with a directive from Tacoma's parent club. In response, stadium management turned off the center field lights, and after 35 minutes, umpires forfeited the game to the Twins. The Islanders protested, claiming they had no control over the lights. However, the Pacific Coast League (PCL) sided with the Twins, citing a league rule that the home team is responsible for providing acceptable playing facilities. After the teams ended the season in a tie for first in the PCL's Western Division, Hawaii won a one-game playoff in Tacoma. In January 2007, the stadium was permanently locked into its football configuration due to cost and maintenance issues. An engineer from Rolair Systems, the NASA spin-off company that engineered the system, claims that the problem was caused by a concrete contractor that ignored specifications for the concrete pads under the stadium.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.