Home is Here on PBS Hawaiʻi is sponsored by Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum, HEI, the Olson Trust and Pasha Hawaiʻi.

(instrumental music) Kalaʻi Miller: Aloha, I’m Kalaʻi Miller.

For nearly half a century, Aloha Stadium stood as Hawaiʻi’s gathering place.

Its rusted beams and weathered seats were home to countless shared experiences that can’t be replicated.

Wear and tear through the years took its toll on the structure, but when Aloha Stadium was built in the 70s, the design was ahead of its time.

(empty stadium wind blowing) Chad Owens / Former University of Hawaiʻi Football Player: First thing that I feel when I come out here is the crowd.

I hear the crowd.

Jim Leahey: Steps out of the grasp of a tackle.

Down the sidelines at the 30, to the 20.

He will score!

Chad Owens: I can still see all the fans.

I can still see all my teammates.

All the energy.

(crowd cheering) It was special.

It was special.

(empty stadium natural sound) (instrumental music) Rob DeMello / KHON2 Sports Director: The versatility of this place is insane.

What other venue could you see football games, concerts, mud bogs and monster trucks, pro wrestling?

I remember seeing Hulk Hogan over here, and that was awesome.

Ryan Andrews / Former Aloha Stadium Manager: It hosts the Great Aloha Run, where people come down that tunnel for the finish line on this field.

And that was for 40 years.

Pamela Self / Former Lead Usher or Aloha Stadium Employee (1975 – 2021): We started doing the graduations because some of the schools couldn't get into Blaisdell.

Samantha Spain / Aloha Stadium Sales & Marketing Specialist: Whoever decided to have the largest swap meet was brilliant.

(marching band playing) Ryan Andrews: We also did a lot of high school and even UH marching band events on this field.

50th State Fair.

Samantha Spain: And of course, Pro Bowls, for the past 30 plus years with us.

Pamela Self: This section right here.

This was baseball.

It was awesome.

Home plate was right there.

Darren Fong / Wahiawā Resident: I remember when they was building it.

Was it early 70s?

Visiting family relatives coming down here, I witnessed the construction.

Janet Otani / ʻAiea Resident: We lived right across of this Aloha Stadium.

And while they were building Aloha Stadium, we could hear the noise and all the hustle and bustle that went on.

Samantha Spain: Aloha Stadium opened September 12, 1975.

We replaced the Honolulu Stadium, which was closer to the university.

That was built in 1926.

So really, for Governor Burns to have his vision of the Aloha Stadium was something very unique at the time.

We were the first stadium in the United States to be able to be moveable.

(instrumental music) Rob DeMello: I remember coming here for Major League Baseball, San Diego Padres and St.

Louis Cardinals in a regular season baseball game at Aloha Stadium.

And you know, that happened in the spring, and just a few months later, I was here for a UH football game and it's back to the football configuration.

That was ahead of its time.

Ultimately, it didn't last.

And maybe the versatility the stadium added to some of the life expectancy being cut down for this place, but for while it was working, and while it allowed for it to happen, that's what added to the allure of this place, is that you can see so many different things here and have so many different experiences.

Announcer: The fatest as well, and we’re underway with the Hawaiian Supercross.

Samantha Spain: Our staff, we have a small group for full time and then our part timers I like to say are the heart of the stadium.

They're our ambassadors of aloha.

(instrumental music) Pamela Self: First started working in 1975 when the stadium first opened.

Fresh out of high school just graduated in '74 from Pearl City.

I said, okay, it'd be an adventure, because I like sports.

I think I worked every position here except the locker room.

Rob DeMello: I was so fortunate to work with so many broadcasters whose voice were the soundtracks of these great moments in our state's history.

And obviously it stands out on the list at University of Hawaiʻi football games where you had Robert Kekaula on the radio for a really long time before he transitioned to TV, and then Jim Leahey on television for so many years.

Jim Leahey: Hawaiʻi won that game by a score of 13 to nothing.

Rob DeMello: You add to that Les Keiter is the person that founded the Stadium Stars project, and when I came into it, he was still a part of it, and so he was the very first person to welcome me here into Aloha Stadium.

Les Keiter: So sit back and enjoy our young intern sportscasters who have also become our Stadium Stars.

Pamela Self: We made it to the point where Aloha Stadium meant something at that time.

Aloha was aloha.

From your heart.

And that's what I'm gonna miss is this.

The sounds of everybody yelling and cheering.

Lights all night long.

Setting up for mud bog super pool, whatever it may be.

Helping the field crew.

We would come in and put down the tarp.

Help set up plywood, set up the chairs, tie the chairs, did everything.

You know, that's what we did.

Because we enjoyed it.

That's what Aloha Stadium is all about.

It's gonna be hard to say goodbye.

Ryan Andrews: This stadium has definitely served its purpose.

I know there's a history here of deferred maintenance and challenges with the structural steel and the corten steel that wasn't supposed to corrode, but yet it did.

Despite that, this facility has definitely served its purpose as a gathering place for not just Oʻahu but Hawaiʻi in general.

And the average lifespan lifespan for stadium is in that you know, 30 to 40 year range, so it's even outlived that.

So this place is has served its mission.

And hopefully the next one will do the same and even more.

(instrumental music) Kalaʻi Miller: The stadium was closed to the public in December of 2020, due to a combination of safety, maintenance and financial issues.

Its closure marked the end of a remarkable chapter in Hawaiʻi’s history, but the spirit of Aloha Stadium will live in the hearts of those who filled it with life.

(instrumental music) Rob DeMello / KHON2 Sports Director: The hardest thing about Aloha Stadium closing down was that nobody knew at the time that it was going to close down.

Right?

You had that 2019 season that was awesome.

The last UH football game that was played here in front of fans was the Bows beating BYU.

How poetic is that, right?

But when people left the stadium that night.

They had no idea that they would not be back to watch an event.

Samantha Spain / Aloha Stadium Sales & Marketing Specialist: We knew the stadium really meant a lot to people.

And that's one reason we wanted to have closure for the stadium.

Ryan Andrews / Former Aloha Stadium Manager: We had a lot of memorabilia setup.

And the memorabilia again spanned the entire 40 years of the stadium.

And as people watched and looked at this memorabilia, you can see some getting choked up because some of these people aren't with us anymore, unfortunately.

And so that was very special to just watch and observe and just be a part of it.

Kaʻiulani McKeague-Wold / ʻAiea Resident: I'm actually sad now, even though nothing's really happened to it just yet.

Because it's one of those things where you come home and you drive past and you can just look over your shoulder and see it's there.

It's one of those parts that's woven into the fabric of our landscape.

Lori Yamada / Waipahu Resident: Yeah, I dragged my kids here today because they haven't really played here or, or come to a lot of games here.

And I wanted them to kind of just get the experience of knowing what how iconic this place was and how much it meant to like my childhood and growing up here in Hawaiʻi.

Darren Fong / Wahiawā Resident: Like anything else cannot stop progress, right?

But we can always have those memories.

So having this function today, I think the state did a good, good job in having this event.

I know for me all these years, this is the first time I came in this area, which is kind of cool.

Marivic Butay / Waipahu Resident: Growing up, we we loved coming to Aloha Stadium.

I remember going to concerts, a lot of football games.

I actually sang the national anthem here for one of my high school football games.

Sonya Hagen / Honolulu Resident: Well, we wanted to buy a chair because we want to have a piece of history.

This building has so much warmth to it.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Nice!

Rob DeMello: I brought all my kids and my wife, and we got to be on the field and take pictures.

And that was special for me, because I knew that my youngest would have never watched the game here and never will.

I wanted him to experience that.

Adding to that was at that time, my father was battling cancer, he only had a couple of months left at that point, and it gave me a chance to buy stadium seats.

He wasn't doing well at the time, barely talking.

But when I showed him the seats, he was super excited, and had a tear in his eyes, because this is a special place to him.

Chad Owens / Former University of Hawaiʻi Football Player: The final farewell event day here, at the Aloha Stadium, it was, it was really cool.

You know, it allowed me, almost 20 years later, from playing to come back and build a locker with some memorabilia, interact with the fans, and you see some old teammates.

But just to sort of like, be present and appreciate this place.

Pamela Self / Aloha Stadium Employee (1975 – 2021): I mean, this place if it could talk, you'd be surprised at the stories it could tell you.

(fans cheering) Julian Romero / Lānaʻi City Resident: I'm from the island of Lānaʻi and I went to Kamehameha Schools.

The ILH games were always so magical against Saint Louis and Punahou.

Ryan Andrews: The HHSAA division two championship game that took place here in 2017.

Lahainaluna and Konaweana, and that that game went seven over times.

It was the first game of the evening.

So we had three games, so we knew it was gonna be a long night.

But when that first game went three and a half hours, we said we're not getting outta here till tomorrow.

But it was such an exciting game to watch.

And I think everyone, I mean, we didn't want anyone to lose.

Henry Kapono / Entertainer: My favorite memory of Aloha Stadium was when we did our first concert here.

It was huge.

It was like 38,000 people.

So, it was crazy.

For us, it was like going from the, going from a nightclub or a bar to a huge stage, and couldn't believe it, you know, you just going, wow, everybody's coming out for us.

Billy V / TV Personality: Bruno Mars, Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson.

I was on the second night, that was a Tom Moffat Production.

I was on the very from the stage, the very farthest seat, all the way at the very top row.

That was the second night.

The first night I was reporting traffic from a from a Cessna 150 above the stadium.

Chad Owens: I remember coming to the Michael Jackson concert.

I'm telling you.

He came out the I think he came out of like the ground.

He came up and it was just it was epic Kaʻiulani McKeague-Wold: I think my favorite memory would probably be the Celine Dion concert.

I was in the yellow section, but it was still Celine Dion, you know, in Hawaiʻi.

And it was just like, oh, my gosh, I can't believe we're seeing such a big star in such a small place in Hawaiʻi.

But that's what Aloha Stadium does, it brings the big acts down to us here in the middle of the ocean.

Bobby Command / Captain Cook Resident: There's a poster of a War up there.

I totally remember that.

It was a really rowdy concert.

There were people running onto the stage and people like pushing them off of the stage.

It was just it was but it was a great, great concert.

(Willie K singing) O say can you see.

By the dawn’s early light.

Ryan Andrews: The national anthem and Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi, that Willie K performed, and I believe it was 2018.

And you know normally, people stop and listen.

But there's still a lot of movement going on, because it's pregame and people are moving around.

But that night you could hear a pin drop and everyone had chicken skin.

Through the perilous fight.

Pamela Self: I think the best best one for me was soccer.

When Pele came, we were able to talk to him.

Very pleasant.

Real easy to talk to.

And when I saw him on a field I went, oh my god.

I could never do something like that.

But it was it was an awesome, awesome game.

Bobby Command: I came out to a number of Islander games.

I remember waiting right outside here, the players would come out and we asked for their autographs.

Billy V: It’s like family.

It's like the gathering place.

That's what Aloha Stadium was.

It was the place where Hawaiʻi could come together and cheer and celebrate.

And you know what the biggest event was?

It wasn't even a concert.

It was graduations.

How many schools have graduated in Aloha Stadium?

And people could say that they actually walked the line and got their diploma in there.

(crowd cheering) Chad Owens: There was nothing better than game days right here at the Aloha Stadium at home.

Rob DeMello: I've never seen snow, but I imagine the first time I see falling snow in my life, it's gonna remind me of Aloha Stadium and just seeing newspaper come down after Hawaiʻi scores a touchdown.

Bobby Command: I was at the very first game at Aloha Stadium.

It was Texas A and I and the University of Hawaiʻi.

Darren Fong: I used to come here in 80s when I was going to school at UH.

One of the things that was changed now is they never used to check for bags.

So, you know local people we like save money, right?

So we stuffing all our snacks, juice, soda, zip pac.

Janet Otani: Colt Brennan was my favorite player.

Stephen Lee / Aloha Stadium Events Manager: I think the 2007 UH football season was a memorable year.

It was fun because you know the entire state came together to follow this, this team that went undefeated.

Lori Yamada: I think one of the most things that I will miss is the tailgates and the football game games thereafter.

And just the electric atmosphere of watching the games live here.

Rob DeMello: We sat section, MM red, second row seats one and two, where my father and I. So, I'm about six years old in 1988 and never missed a game after that, until I started working.

And then I was still coming to the games, you know, in a professional level, but that's where we sat.

The same people sat around us every week became family, right?

People that we are not related to, that we don't see at any other time of the year, yet they're so much a part of our family.

That's how special this place was, and how it bonded people.

It brought people together.

Jim Leahey: This is for the record.

Into the endzone.

Touchdown!

And the record has been set.

Timmy Chang / University of Hawaiʻi Head Football Coach: Probably the best memory I had was giving my father to the football during the game when I broke the yards record, Ty Detmer's yard record.

They stopped the game and, and my dad was a was wearing the red hat and he's the TV official guy on the sidelines calling timeouts.

So, he you know, I don't have to give him a ticket for the game.

He had the best ticket, you know, being right there on the sidelines.

Pamela Self: BYU was a thing.

If we could beat BYU, we was good.

Jim Leahey: Stevenson up the middle.

Stevenson.

Touchdown!

Is this the year?

You better believe this is the year.

(crowd cheering) Pamela Self: You know, this stadium rocked.

And I mean, we would sell out or close to a sell out several occasions.

But when they came down to BYU, this whole place was sold out completely.

We had people hopping the fence.

We had security having to patrol the whole gate, because everybody was just trying to get in.

Chad Owens: BYU game 2001.

Talk about, you know, my one of my greatest not just college but football memories as a whole.

That day was a movie.

It really was.

The energy was unmatched.

You know, it was so loud.

If I could describe Hawaiʻi football in a day, or in a moment, it's that game.

BYU, Hawaiʻi, 2001.

That was it.

If I could live in that moment, every day, I would.

Rob DeMello: I don't know if there's a place in Hawaiʻi that just by walking into it brings back as many memories as Aloha Stadium.

And for me, I think it adds to it that my father is no longer with us, and that's who I probably spent the most amount of time here at Aloha Stadium with.

But it's a very special place.

I grew up here.

I created dreams here.

I chased dreams here.

I lived dreams here.

Ryan Andrews: Thank you Aloha Stadium for being the host where people can gather and have shared experiences.

Samantha Spain: I just want to thank the Aloha Stadium for all the years that I've been able to work here, but also to play here.

It's so humbling to be a part of a historic facility.

Chad Owens: Thank you Aloha Stadium for giving this local boy, a platform, a dream.

That, that thing that seems so impossible to do.

Thank you for giving me that opportunity to push for that, to to get here to play, to play in this wonderful place.

Pamela Self: Thank you Aloha Stadium.

The staff.

Everybody who came here.

It was a good ride.

I enjoyed it.

Like I said, made a lot of friends, saw a lot of things and just enjoyed myself here.

My 47 years of Aloha Stadium.

It was great.

I would never change that for anything.

Never.

Kalaʻi Miller: Saying goodbye to Aloha Stadium is bittersweet because it was more than just a venue.

It gave you the feeling of being part of something larger than yourself.

That’s the hope for the new stadium as it’s being reimagined for future generations.

(demolition natural sound) Billy V / TV Personality: It's hard to let go, but then there'll be time to build some new traditions for young families when the new stadium gets here.

(instrumenal music) Julian Romero / Lānaʻi City Resident: When the stadium comes down, I will be sad.

I feel like it's a part of me.

But I'm excited about what the future holds in the new stadium.

And I hope the new stadium will retain some of the magic that this place has.

Darren Fong / Wahiawā Resident: I remember going to the old stadium, Honolulu Stadium.

And I remember as a small kid walking under the bleachers and people dropping their peanuts and so I'm going to live to see the third stadium, which is kind of cool.

Pamela Self / Aloha Stadium Employee (1975-2021): I hope that when the new stadium does get built, whether it's on this same site, or further down in the parking lot, or wherever it may be I hope that people will come utilize the facility.

You know, and try to have that that same feeling that we had here.

Janet Ontai / ʻAiea Resident: My grandson is into sports, UH sports.

So, we'll be here for sure.

Chad Owens / Former University of Hawaiʻi Football Player: It is bittersweet to see the stadium come to an end.

The history of it, the events, the energy, the games, the everything about it is going to be missed.

But the sweet part is, for me and everyone else that's, that's played here, and everyone else before, you know that you're a part of creating this Hawaiʻi football buzz, and going into the new Aloha Stadium, the updated, the modern, whatever you want to call it, I think that's something we need to all look forward to.

Bobby Command / Captain Cook Resident: The University of Hawaiʻi is special to people in Hawaiʻi.

We're loyal fans.

We're gonna come to games and once a new stadium is here I hope to be here too.

Hope to last long enough to see a whole bunch of UH games here as well.

Stephen Lee / Aloha Stadium Events Manager: I'm hoping with the new stadium that we can provide better service, better technology and a better fan experience.

Samantha Spain / Aloha Stadium Sales & Marketing Specialist: Our vision is always to make sure that we take care of the people of Hawaiʻi, the community, no matter what we build, whether it's an entertainment district, a stadium, a combination.

We really want to make sure that we are giving what the people want.

(blessing natural sound) Walter Thoemmes / Stadium Authority Chair: This place in Hālawa, has come to represent so much of our shared histories.

Not only did I grow up here, but I feel like my kids also grew up here, and I like to think that with the new Aloha Stadium, my grandkids and their kids can one day have some of the same experiences that we had, and potentially be able to live right next door as well.

Stanford Carr / Aloha Hālawa District Partners: What we envision in the new Aloha Stadium, starting with 31,000 seats and yes, no benches, with club lounges and a hierarchy of seating arrangements that gives the community a lot more choices to enjoy their field events.

Rick Blangiardi / City & County of Honolulu Mayor: I had the privilege of being on headset with Jim Leahey, my dear friend, for 13 years during a time of UH football, when every game was pretty much sold out, and the pride was so palpable throughout the whole state, not the least of which was the 50,000 people who were put in there.

You know, when everybody used to come to the games in those days wearing a headset.

You could feel it.

It was incredible.

All our people here deserve that.

future generations deserve that.

The kids who will come and play here deserve that and all the other people.

Rob DeMello / KHON2 Sports Director: I just hope that it represents Hawaiʻi, I hope that there's lessons to be told, there's stories to be told when you're walking in the concourse.

And I hope that some of the the old Aloha Stadium is on display at the new Aloha Stadium, because it's such a special place.

And I know it's going to look different.

It's not going to be as big.

There's going to be a lot of different quirks to it, but I really hope that there's an opportunity to honor the Aloha Stadium and for what it did for over four decades here in this state, becoming as much a part of Hawaiʻi as anything else, especially from a venue standpoint.

Kalaʻi Miller: Mahalo for joining us.

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For Home is Here, I’m Kalaʻi Miller.

A hui hou.

Pamela Self: If you look around this stadium, all the ramps are up on the top the walkways, when they started stomping, the bridges would go ba-boom, ba-boom.

So, if you were walking, your foot did not hit the ground yet, but it was coming up to you.

And a lot of people says what's happening?

You know, something's wrong.

And I went no, I said the stadium will move with a lot of movement, everybody's pounding, cheering you know it the stadium does move.

Rob DeMello: First thing that comes to mind is running up the spiral walkway.

When I was a kid, it was like, when we got here and I had that ticket stub in my hand, that was the first thing I was going to do was just start sprinting up that spiral staircase or walkway.

The food, definitely, I mean, you could smell the boiled peanuts and the nachos and, I mean, when I think about it now, I can still smell game day.

The last one is, I'm sure this happens at every stadium.

But I'm not quite sure that people get as excited about this as Hawaiʻi people at Aloha Stadium.

The dot race, where you had the red, yellow, green, blue, right?

And it would be like in a media timeout or whatever it is, and the dots would be racing around the track.

People used to get lit.

I mean, they would be turned over like red, red, yellow, and that that's a core memory for me at Aloha Stadium, is that when you see that dot race, that's, that's prime Aloha Stadium right there.