Conceptual rendering of Aloha Stadium redevelopment, which has Aloha Halawa District Partners in the running for construction rights -- Cordish Company (equity partner), Populous (one of the designers), AECOM Hunt (builder)Crawford Athletics
The state of Hawaii’s efforts to redevelop the Aloha Stadium site received another curveball Friday when one of the final two teams competing to win the project backed out. That group -- Waiola Development Partners (WPD) -- included names well known to the North American sports world: Manica Architecture, Stantec and Machete Group. ES CON Sports & Entertainment, which has the naming rights for the new HKS-designed ballpark in Hokkaido, Japan, was also involved in the bid team. WPD’s exit leaves only Aloha Halawa District Partners (AHDP) in the running for the right to construct a 25,000-seat stadium to replace the defunct Aloha Stadium as part of a mixed-use district that would include housing and retail. The AHDP group includes The Cordish Company (one of the equity partners), Populous (one of the designers), and AECOM Hunt (as the builder).
RELATED: New bill in Hawaii state house scraps Aloha Stadium redevelopment plan
The New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) master developer was supposed to be selected this fall, with a contract hopefully agreed by next summer. The state’s RFP, posted late last year, was arranged to handle a scenario in which only one group submitted a bid, but it clearly diminishes the state’s bargaining power in an overall effort that has struggled during the last four years to accrue momentum due to political setbacks and the complexities of a project in Hawaii. Crawford Architects has worked with the state since NASED’s beginning, providing services like site analysis, feasibility studies, and rough conceptual design. The state is providing roughly $400M to demolish the existing 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, which was built in 1975 but closed permanently in late 2020, with the winning bid group taking on all other costs. The state maintains its goal of opening a new stadium by 2028 despite WPD dropping out. WPD and AHDP were only announced as finalists in late March.
