The New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District will take decades to complete

HONOLULU(KHON2) — Decades. That’s how long the state said the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED) will take to build. One official said the stadium should be done in about five years, but the rest of the project will take many more to complete.

The year 2043, that’s the estimated time of completion for the NASED according Chris Kinimaka, the public works administrator for the department of accounting and general services, that is handling the contract for the project.

“We want to be clear that development is going to happen over time. So we’re really talking about 20 years before the whole district is built out,” Kinimaka explained.

Residents like Leanella Kauwenaole don’t understand why it’s taking the state so long to get it together.

“It’s a little disappointing because I mean, I might not even be here 20 years from now,” Kauwenaole said. “I’d really love to see it rebuilt quickly.”

Kinimaka said the stadium itself should be done much sooner as long as things stay on schedule.

“We are looking to have the stadium available for the start of the UH 2028 football season,” she explained.

The NASED project has already faced numerous hurdles, but Kinimaka said once the request for proposal officially goes out this month, they should have a developer chosen and master plan completed by December 2025.

“That means that with the contract being signed in 2025, we’re looking around late 2025 or 2026 for the stadium to be demolished.”

According to Kinimaka, the main requirement is the 25,000 seat stadium.

“Really they’re looking at 30 to 35,000 seats,” she explained. “The 25,000 seats are a minimum, if they developer can go ahead and fund and build a larger stadium, that is cool that we’d be happy with that. But really the magic numbers around 30 to 35,000.”

In addition to the stadium, the developer would be required to remove all of the asphalt and construct a community built right up to the stadium itself.

The intent is to create a community to live, work, play and thrive in the 98 acre space according to Kinimaka.

Something residents said can’t happen soon enough.

“I hope that they do build it quicker cause, I miss it,” said Honolulu resident Chris Namnama. ” I miss all the people here. This place feels lonely sometimes so it would be nice if they could maybe build it, I mean a couple years sooner.”

“This would be a great way to come and see all of that entertainment,” Kauwenaole said. “So I really would like to have it done soon.”

Kinimaka said the state has $350 million in general funds and another $49.5 million in operating funds for the project. The developer will be responsible for covering the rest of the costs.