Reports: Aloha Stadium to be shutdown indefinitely

News broke this afternoon that sources are telling Hawaii News Now and KHON2 that Aloha Stadium, the home of Hawaii Warriors football and other events, has been deemed unsafe to hold crowds and is likely be be condemned.

The stadium being in poor shape is not mind-blowing news, it was well-known that Aloha Stadium was old and on its last legs, but the timing of this is a total shocker. Hawaii’s new stadium isn’t projected to be finished until 2023.

There’s no doubt about it: this could potentially devastate Hawaii football and the rest of the athletic department. Where will the Warriors play their home games in 2021, and even potentially 2022?!

My random, not-well-thought-out ideas: Las Vegas is nicknamed the “9th Island” due to its heavy population of Hawaii transplants. The likes of New Mexico, San Jose State have already used Sam Boyd Stadium as a temporary home during the global pandemic with UNLV moving to the Raiders’ new stadium. Could Sam Boyd provide a temporary home to Hawaii? Ticket sales wouldn’t be on Aloha Stadium level, and the cost of additional travel would be brutal, but it’s a possibility.

Or could Hawaii potentially play on Maui at the War Memorial Stadium Complex? The facility website says, “War Memorial Stadium Complex is the largest sports and recreation facility in the Maui Parks system. Features include: A 20,000 seat stadium Home of the Hula Bowl.” Desperate times call for desperate measures, is it time for Maui to rep UH for a few seasons?

It’s a sad day, I myself have many memories from attending games at Aloha Stadium. It wasn’t a perfect venue, but it was loved all the same and it’s truly unfortunate the stadium will be condemned without an appropriate sendoff.

What do you think Hawaii should do? Comment section is open below.

UPDATE: Hawaii’s athletic director speaks