These are two ideas envisioned by the Games' organizers - Aloha Bowl Charities chief executive officer Lenny Klompus and his wife, Marcia (executive director).

"Next year, we have already planned to start the games on King Kamehameha Day, a Wednesday, June 11, and our goal is to finish everything by the following Sunday," said Lenny Klompus.

"We really believe we can do this. We talked with the commissioners, and they all loved the idea. Now it's just a matter of getting the venues to work."

The recently completed 1996 Aloha State Games staged its first event, golf, on June 7, and closed on Sunday.

But 86 percent of this year's 51-event program was consolidated into the first weekend.

"All in all, the idea of making it a smaller window, is one of the better decisions we've ever made," said Klompus, who noted that logistics ran smoother this year.

Lenny Klompus

"The crazy goal we have is - because so many people are coming from neighbor islands - to maybe have an Olympic village, like they do at the Empire State Games in New York. They have it all at Syracuse University. If we can do it all in one location, then we can have people stay in the dorms."

Another, plan for next year is to have the torch lit throughout the Games at one site, rather than moving it around.

"What we want to do is light it on Wednesday and keep it lit through Sunday," said Klompus. "We have a location in mind near the site of this year's opening ceremonies (Civic Center lawn)."

There were 1,800 volunteers, staff and sports commissioners involved in the Games this year.

Klompus said the price tag was about $200,000. He said that figure might have been double if sponsors like 7-Eleven and hosts such as the city's department of parks and recreation and the University of Hawaii did not offer free venues for sports.

"What would we have done with 1,700 basketball players if not for the city," said Klompus.

"This is an expensive proposition. And of the 46 state games organizations around the country, we may be one of only two that are not able to concentrate solely on the state games. We have other events (Hula Bowl, Aloha Bowl). We wouldn't be able to do this without all the cooperation we get from so many people in the community."

He said Aloha Bowl Charities has something in common with the Fiesta Bowl, which runs Arizona's state games.