ALOHA STADIUM

Aloha Stadium, home of the Hawaii Warriors

Honolulu, HI

Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, Aloha Stadium is one of the most unique stadiums in any sport. After over four decades of existence it remains home to many events including the home of the Hawaii Warriors football program. In the early 1970s a new multipurpose stadium for the State of Hawaii needed to be built to replace the aging Honolulu Stadium. Built at a cost of $37 million, the stadium was constructed by Fall 1975.

The first game played at the stadium was between the Warriors and Texas A&I on September 12, 1975. The two tier stadium seats roughly 50,000. It is able to house football and baseball games along with concerts. It is unique in how it can change to accommodate different events. Four movable sections of 7,000 seats each can move to form either a football or baseball configuration. These 3.5 million pound sections of seats move using compressed air. When in football configuration, two grandstands are located on both sides of the gridiron and at both ends of the gridiron. There are breaks in the corners of the grandstands. However as of January 2007, the stadium has been permanently locked into football configuration due to maintenance costs. State Legislature has also proposed building a new stadium, but no action has been taken. Aloha Stadium has also been the home of several minor league baseball teams over the years and was the home of the NFL’s Pro Bowl through 2016. It continues to host the annual Aloha Bowl college football game each year. Future plans for the stadium are uncertain as recent plans include downsizing or replacing the stadium with a smaller one.