IN just about any place but Honolulu it would seem impossible that an architect would design a sports stadium incapable of providing the one thing stadiums are supposed to do: allow spectators to see what's happening on the field. Plan should have set sights higher
But we've got a system here where contracts historically have been awarded based on whether an architect or engineer contributes money to political campaigns. Many are awarded without bids, so the process of selection is kept from the public.
I'm not saying that's what happened with the University of Hawaii softball stadium. I don't know. All I know is that the state hired an architect who apparently ignored UH sports officials' questions about whether fans actually would be able to see the field. You would think that, in this day and age of computer simulations, the planners could have hunkered down in front of a computer monitor and looked at a three-dimensional rendition of the proposed stadium. Then, before the blasted thing was ever built, they would have known it was flawed.
That didn't happen. The architect drew up his plans and the builders erected a goofy-looking stadium that has a huge deck jutting out in front of the seats, blocking the field.
Obviously, something will have to be done to fix the problem. That's the way things are done in Hawaii, especially in the sporting-arena construction biz. Build something stupid and then spend millions fixing it.
No one batted an eye when architects proposed building a stadium that would intentionally rust. I would have liked to be at that meeting when the Aloha Stadium was pitched for the first time. You're going to build a stadium on an island surrounded by salt water that will rust on purpose? Fabulous!
And they did it. And it rusted like it was supposed to be giving the stadium a unique reddish patina. Fabulous! Then it rusted more. And more. And then, when it was about to fall down, lawsuits were filed and millions of dollars were spent to stop the stadium from collapsing like an abandoned midway ride.
At least the architects who designed the Aloha Stadium understood the basic purpose of building something with a lot of seats around a sporting field. They weren't dumb enough to try to pass off a stadium that both would rust AND not let fans see what was happening on the field.
It is almost beyond comprehension that someone could design a stadium in which most of the spectators can't see key parts of the field. I mean, how clear do your instructions have to be? Look, we want you to build us a boat. First off, it's gotta float, OK? And we want you to build a highway and it's got to be wide enough for cars to drive on it. And we want a stadium, make it any way you want, but fans have to be able to see what's happening on the field, got it?
It's almost laughable except it's another example of our tax money being tossed down the poop chute. State officials say we won't have to pay for fixing the softball stadium. Baloney. Lawsuits will be filed. Deputy attorneys general will be put to work. We pay those guys.
I don't think we should just sit back and let this matter be swept under home plate. Someone should investigate how the architect was hired. Was the project open for bid or was it just handed out on a platter. Is the architect a major political contributor? Did that have anything to do with him getting the contract? Who drew up the specifications for the design?
We need this to get sorted out because now Mayor Harris is proposing that we build a tunnel under Honolulu Harbor. We can't even build a crummy little softball stadium. I don't want to have to drive through a tunnel where a mask and snorkel are required safety gear.