Dear Santa,Thanks for all the neat stuff you brought us this year.
The softball stadium is coming along nicely. It sure is going to be great when we get to play in that baby next month. The team can hardly wait. We were really happy getting that conference championship in men's basketball, too. And the football locker room is just what we needed.
Now that you're back at the North Pole, thinking about next year, here's what we'd like you to bring us in the future:
First, a stadium that can be used for both women's soccer and track and field. This would give our improving soccer team a better place to play and help us with our gender-equity requirements.
Second, we'd really like to restructure the football and soccer practice fields to make a little more room for intramural and P.E. activities.
A tennis stadium might be nice down in the lower campus, too.
Finally, and this is kind of a pipe dream and we wouldn't expect to actually get it for a few years, but an on-campus football stadium would be just too killer.
Happy Holidays,
Hugh and Marilyn
WHAT does the future hold for the continued expansion of University of Hawaii athletic department facilities in the quarry, also known as the Lower Campus or Makai Campus? How about a 30,000-seat football stadium?
How about a tennis stadium?
How about a soccer stadium with a grass field or a track and field stadium built along the lines of international facilities?
How about all four?
With the completion of the Special Events Arena scheduled for August and the first phase of the softball stadium set to be done by the opening of the 1998 season in January, UH officials are looking at what will be needed in the next millennium.
Hugh Yoshida, the UH athletic director, and Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano, the assistant athletic director for women's sports, have their wish lists and priorities. They work with the athletic department's director for facilities, Teri Chang, with requests for capital improvement project monies going through Allan Ah San, UH's associate vice president for administration.
"Like any issue in the state of Hawaii, it's always a space issue because it's so limited and we have to maximize what we have," Yoshida said.
Growth on the 250-acre Manoa campus has been substantial over the past 30 years and additional space for expansion is at a premium.
"When we look at gender equity, we need to find a home for women's soccer," Yoshida said. "Maybe we should consider having an on-campus football stadium that would house 30,000. Maybe that's something we need to consider besides having a site for soccer.
"It's something down the road, but we need to investigate it and see if that is an option. It would help with our student's attendance. There are some issues with regards to traffic, things of that nature, but that can be looked at. We need to think from the standpoint of mainland programs that have on-campus stadiums and the different environment and atmosphere it brings. We need to address this and put it on the table."
The No. 1 priority for Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano is a field for soccer.
"Cooke Field is really the ideal place for a soccer, track and field stadium," she said. "I would like 5,000 seats and a facility that is fan- and media-friendly.
"A second alternative is for a separate soccer stadium, but that will cost even more because you need lights. It doesn't make sense to have two stadiums."
Another important consideration is providing field space for intramurals and Health, Physical Education and Recreation class use.
Yoshida suggests looking into the possibility of grading the two grass practice fields (presently on different levels) used by football and soccer all the way to the quarry wall and turning the area into three fields.
The present football practice field might need to be fenced so it isn't used as a play area when it rains.
"We have to look at the tennis courts and see if we might put them on top of the parking structure," Yoshida said. "That would give us more practice space, not only for our athletes, but for intramurals and HPR to have their own facility.
"When you look at the facilities, I think there is a lot of potential for growth. We may need to move things around."
"I think this whole quarry should be for athletics," Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano said. "We should have more grass fields and we should have a tennis stadium."
Some of the questions might be answered when a $100,000 appropriation becomes available July 1 for a study of land use in the quarry. The scope will be defined in meetings between Yoshida and Ah San.
"When it comes to CIP requests, academics come first and rightly so," Ah San said. "There is a master plan for the campus and we have to look at five to 10 years from now. Athletics is just one segment of the larger picture."
He said the possibility of an on-campus football stadium is almost an impossibility because of the supporting infrastructure that would be needed.
"The university missed the boat in the early '60s by not trying to condemn all the land down to King Street to build a stadium," Ah San said. "The cost of doing that now would be prohibitive."
Ah San said he thinks Hawaii needs a soccer stadium and would take a look at what the state plans for the land at Barbers Point.
That, however, would go against the department's desire to have as many sporting activities as possible on campus to facilitate student access to the games.
Then there is the impending addition of at least one more sport.
"As far as I'm concerned, the next sport is women's track and field," Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano said. "That's why we need a dual purpose facility for soccer and track and field.
"The soccer field has to be grass so we can host playoffs. Soccer also can be a revenue-generating sport. That wasn't the main reason, but it was one of the positive things about adding soccer. And Hugh was 100 percent supportive of adding soccer."
A final decision on what sport or sports to add to satisfy the athletic department's gender equity goals hasn't been made, but it needs to come soon.
Yoshida said he would like to have a coach for women's track and field or rowing, which is also being considered, by the 1999-2000 school year, with that sport starting in 2000-2001.
"We need sports that meet the interest of the student-athletes," Yoshida said. "There are three issues. One, is there interest among the students? Two, the cost. Three, if it's rowing, what is going to happen with Ala Wai Canal?"
Next fall is the deadline for submitting CIP requests to the state Legislature, meaning there won't be much time between the release of the $100,000 appropriation and the deadline.
"Time is of the essence for me for that soccer, track and field stadium," Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano said. "I can see adding rowing. It's viable, but not at the expense of track and field as an additional sport."
Although it would be tight, Ah San said it would be possible to include a request for funds in the CIP for the next biennium.
The new fiscal biennium begins July 1, 1999 and runs to June 30, 2001.
New softball home
By Al Chase
will be fan-friendly
Star-BulletinBob Coolen can hardly wait for the 1998 University of Hawaii Wahine season to start in the renovated Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The women's head softball coach beams when he talks about the upgraded facility.
"It's going to be a tremendous boost to have a fan-friendly stadium where people can watch a game without fear of getting hit with a ball," Coolen said. "It will solidify our fan base and the commitment from the school which has been incredible."
Anyone driving along the road from the parking structure around the back of Rainbow Stadium can't help but notice the construction work for the new grandstand. The supports have been in place for sometime and the green bleacher seats are being installed.
"The main goal is for us to be able to charge admission and to meet some of the gender equity plans that we have committed ourselves to accomplishing," said Teri Chang, assistant athletic director for facilities and events management.
She also said that the NCAA accreditation team looking at UH's facilities put down that the stadium had to be built after learning of that possibility.
Another plus from having an enclosed stadium is UH becomes eligible to host an NCAA regional.
The cost for Phase I of the improvements is $1 million for construction and $100,000 for the consultants. Construction started Sept. 5.
"What were going to have is an enclosed field with an eight-foot high perimeter fence down each side of the park and 1,200 bleacher-type seats," Chang said. "There will be 200 preferred seats with backs for season ticket holders and booster club members."
There will be a roof over the preferred seats and some of the rest of the bleachers. The stands are raised allowing for a better view for fans and to accommodate dugouts underneath.
There also will be a new booth for the media and television.
Chang said the contractors are on schedule to complete the infrastructure. Then the bleacher system, the last major component, will be installed.
"The field itself is on schedule and the contractor says it will be completed by Jan. 24. Of course were shooting for mid-January," Chang said.
"So far, everything is on track and Bob Coolen is on top of this project every single day. I've worked with several different coaches on projects and he is the most involved."
The first scheduled event is a scrimmage against Chaminade Jan. 26 followed by the alumnae game Jan. 31.
Another phase will be necessary to complete the facility. That would involve adding concession stands, locker rooms, a training room and offices that would make it the same as Rainbow Stadium is for baseball.
"That's what we want for a venue," Coolen said. "No matter how many phases it takes, we will be self-supporting someday."
Women's softball becomes UH's seventh revenue-generating sport joining football, baseball, men's and women's basketball and volleyball.
Finishing touches
By Al Chase
for Special Events Arena
Star-BulletinConstruction to complete the unfinished portions of the University of Hawaii's Special Events Arena is projected to start Jan. 5. Bids were awarded Dec. 18 for the $5 million project.
Although the whole project is not scheduled for completion until August, there is an urgency to finish certain portions by the end of April.
"We are hosting the men's final four in volleyball (April 30-May 2) so the home team locker rooms, equipment rooms and training rooms have to be completed by then," said Teri Chang, UH assistant athletic director for facilities. "That will be the first phase of that project.
"What's good to note about this project is that it's not only athletic things that will be completed, but there are other important aspects."
These include a 6,000 square foot weight room for kinesiology and leisure science, 6,000 square foot weight room for students, faculty and staff, three instructional class rooms with a 50-seat capacity and a teaching laboratory.
"And, there is the academic/student services center with tutorial offices," Chang said.
Also included is a hospitality room, four home team locker rooms for the men's and women's volleyball and basketball teams and expansion of the ticket office.
"We're going to have a first-class academic center for the student athletes, which is our No. 1 priority," UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida stated. "If there is a message we want to send out, it's that we are focusing on the academic issues.
"Our coaches have done a helluva job with regards to academics. We have a 77 percent graduation rate. This sends a strong message that we are providing a good strong education for our athletes.
"We feel very fortunate that the legislature understands our needs even in the lean years as far as the economy goes. We can showcase the arena. It brings attention to our state, gives a good impression to visitors and helps in the recruiting."
