[ BOXING ]
Stadium prepping
for fightEngineers are working on
protecting FieldTurf at
the stadium for Tyson
As far as the Hawaii Boxing Commission is concerned, Aloha Stadium is still a fine venue for a fight.
As far as the stadium is concerned, we will have to wait and see.
"Everything checked out," Commission executive officer Alan Taniguchi said. "It was a routine check we always go through before a card to make sure everyone is up to speed with our requirements."
Taniguchi and former commissioner Bobby Lee toured the stadium Tuesday and declared it fit to hold a boxing card, specifically a card with Mike Tyson as the main event.
K-1 official Scott Coker and local promoter Tom Moffatt met with the Hawaii Boxing Commission to lay out a plan to bring Mike Tyson to Hawaii to fight Jerome Le Banner in a boxing match at Aloha Stadium on Sept. 11.
Although the configuration has not been worked out yet, stadium officials say it will be their first time putting a ring on top of their newly installed FieldTurf. The last time they had a ring in the stadium was a professional wrestling event in 1991.
FieldTurf replaced Astroturf on the floor of the stadium last year.
"We are still in our learning curve right now," Stadium engineer Ken Tong said. "So we are not really sure what we can do with it. We know it is still under warranty, so we don't want to jeopardize that. I don't foresee any problems, though."
Tong says his crew will certainly have to cover the surface, and may have to find something thicker than the tarp he currently uses for graduations.
Tong can only guess what he can do until Coker and Moffatt inform him how they want the stadium configured. The regular configuration calls for the ring in the middle of the field with 3,200 seats on the floor surrounding it.
The Stadium Authority added the event to its official calendar yesterday.