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HawaiiMongoose

Hawaii making plans to play home football games on campus

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https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/01/11/sports/sports-breaking/university-of-hawaii-football-to-play-home-games-on-campus/

https://www.khon2.com/sports/university-of-hawaii-football-moving-forward-with-plans-to-play-on-campus-at-ching-athletics-complex-in-2021/

Until the Aloha Stadium replacement is built, games would be played at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex which currently has seating for 3,000 fans.  The school expects to add bleacher seating to increase capacity to "up to" 15,000  (although I'm not sure there's enough space to do that).

web1_011121-WEB-Clarence-Ching-Athletic-

Ching_Aerial.jpg?w=1280&h=720&crop=1

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It's interesting. SDSU/SJSU/Hawaii all making what are almost extreme attempts to right their stadium situation. Getting there is probably gonna suck  for a minute with Aztecs playing in LA, SJSU playing at an active construction site, and Hawaii playing on their track field...but the end game sure seems worth it. 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, trvitmvnz said:

Going to be pretty cool and im pretty stoked to see a game in town 

The walk from Waikiki to UHM is around 30 mins.  Also sets up a fun game day atmosphere with the restaurants and bars along the way.  Traffic will be an issue (will always be an issue).  
 

More students in attendance for sure. 
 

I’m excited about this.  3 years of on-campus and then move back into the Big House.  

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It will be interesting to see a packed stadium for a few years even though Ching won't fit more than 15k at max based on space restrictions. Can't wait to see how they plan to reach that capacity. The only big downside outside of traffic is going to be dealing with concrete/metal bleacher seating with no seats....

Being able to go to a game after class was like a dream of mine when I was in the dorms a few years ago. I remember even writing JD during his monthly "Ask JD" things why we couldn't have a stadium on campus.

Getting out of campus I expect is going to be a nightmare after games. If compared to getting out when a men's vball + baseball game held on the same night is any indication. Or even a sold out w. vball game.

 

All that is worth it though just to see a brand new stadium in a couple years with new amenities surrounding it.

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1 hour ago, HawaiiMongoose said:

Probably the best interim solution.

That's a fantastic solution! seating for 10-15K fans will make it a cozy place for home games... and loud! Good job by Hawaii's Admin to make that decision now. 

Questions: Looks like artificial turf at this site, but it looks old too. Is it up to standards, and have the wear and tear needed for playing college football?

And are there decent practice fields around there, and are there locker room facilities for visiting teams to use?

"Make a mistake once and it becomes a lesson, make the same mistake twice and it becomes a choice."
 

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2 hours ago, LoboMan59 said:

That's a fantastic solution! seating for 10-15K fans will make it a cozy place for home games... and loud! Good job by Hawaii's Admin to make that decision now. 

Questions: Looks like artificial turf at this site, but it looks old too. Is it up to standards, and have the wear and tear needed for playing college football?

And are there decent practice fields around there, and are there locker room facilities for visiting teams to use?

You're right that the Ching Field artificial turf is old.  According to the university the plan is to add not only the new seating but also new field turf, a new scoreboard and sound system, and upgrades to the press box.  UH's grass football practice field is right across the road from Ching Field but visiting teams would need to practice elsewhere (plenty of high school fields available).  I'm not sure about the locker room situation.

Below is a view of the complete UH athletic complex, which makes it clear how hemmed-in Ching Field is by (clockwise) parking garages, the tennis complex, the softball stadium, grass practice fields for football and soccer, the baseball stadium, the swimming and diving facility, and athletics offices.  This lack of space is why a full-sized on-campus stadium has never been seriously considered.

The good news is that all of the high rise buildings on the mountain side of the grass practice fields are student dormitories.  So, while this interim solution is in place attending games will be more convenient than ever for students.

lowercampus_manoa.jpg

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3 hours ago, BSUTOP25 said:

I wish Hawaii had the room to build their long-term stadium on campus.

Given the space constraints and traffic issues, I think the best scenario UH could hope for would be (1) converting Ching Field into a permanent, intimate 15K-20K seat on-campus stadium where the football team would play home games against opponents that aren’t a big draw (and where important high school games could also be hosted), while (2) still having access to the currently-planned state-of-the-art, easily accessible 35K-40K seat stadium in Halawa for hot-ticket football games against MWC rivals and P5 teams.

Unfortunately it’s hard to see how building and maintaining both facilities would be financially viable.

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