Aloha Bowl needs
to be retrievedThe issue: A bowl game is not
in the cards this year for UH
or for local football fans.GARY Crowton, Brigham Young University's head football coach, humbly told reporters after Saturday's game at Aloha Stadium that it was a "travesty" that the Hawaii Warriors were left out of post-season bowl action. He is right, of course, but the travesty was set up nine months ago, when the contract for Honolulu's two bowl games went unrenewed. At least one of those games -- the Aloha Bowl -- should be restored for the good of both Hawaii's tourism industry and the University of Hawaii's athletics program.
The absence of a bowl game in Hawaii means that the UH team would have to win the Western Athletic Conference outright to guarantee a bowl position. Any other kind of mainland bowl invitation would be impossible because of the traveling distance for Hawaii fans and the modest national following of UH. State and university officials should work to bring back the Aloha Bowl, which had a special allure.
For three years, the Oahu Bowl and the Aloha Bowl were played as a Christmas doubleheader. However, local fans were reluctant to pay $50 for a single ticket, and attendance was embarrassing. The state contributed $100,000 to the two games last year but made no offer this year, although the Hawaii Tourism Authority has a $2 million special fund intended for such purposes.
Robert J. Fishman, then the authority's chief executive, explained that the fund is used for plans "to maintain the marketing momentum" during the economic slowdown. If the Tourism Authority had agreed to subsidize ticket sales, the Aloha Bowl might have been salvageable. It still may be, but no earlier than 2003.
After promoter Fritz Rohlfing gained permission from the NCAA to move the two Hawaii bowls to the mainland, he succeeded in finding a place for the Oahu Bowl -- now called the Seattle Bowl -- but the Aloha Bowl went begging. Rohlfing's attempts to place it in San Francisco, Anaheim, Calif., and Columbia, S.C., failed. Rohlfing rejected a proposal by Detroit promoter Ken Hoffman to move the game back to Honolulu and split the profits.
Hoffman remarked in August that he believes the Aloha Bowl can make a successful return to Hawaii. "People are back East freezing and then see all these beautiful shots of Hawaii," he said. "It worked for nearly 20 years. It can work again."
It will not happen if the complacency of last spring is repeated. State and university officials will need to make a substantial effort to retrieve what should never have been lost.
China mission yields
promise for HawaiiThe issue: A state-led delegation
has found potential for business
relations with China.CONSIDER the $85,000 the state is spending this year to develop trade with China as a small investment with potentially big economic benefits. If initial results of the business mission by Gov. Cayetano and other Hawaii leaders are any indication, there may be further rewards in the offing.
The timing is right. China today becomes the 143rd member of the World Trade Organization, easing restrictions on imports and exports, tariffs and markets and pledging to adhere to trade rules. With 1.26 billion people, it is the world's most populous country, and trading partners, such as the United States, hope to reap dividends. Hawaii hopes to grab a piece of the action.
The Hawaii delegation for the two-week mission has focused prudently on the niches the state can fill. An agreement with Shanghai University of Finance and Economics will link it to the University of Hawaii for international programs in information technology and business administration. The governor endorsed partnerships with Guanjou province and with the Beijing Tourism Group in cooperative efforts for tourism and staff training.
The mission stimulated other possibilities, such as tourism affiliates that would help Chinese citizens more easily travel to Hawaii, a largely untapped market that could fill the gaps left by the lagging visitor numbers from Japan. Another idea forwarded was to establish in China educational facilities specializing in tourism, although Hawaii would face competition from other industry experts in Singapore and Hong Kong. Sharing medical research and marine science facilities also may prove a good fit for China and Hawaii.
Another opportunity lies in China's garnering of the 2008 Olympic Games. Hotel and resort development companies, architectural firms and culinary training businesses could harvest new money as China gears up for the international events.
A few Hawaii enterprises already have met success. Architects Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo are working on 12 projects there, while Dimensia Inc. has agreements for Greater China Technologies to write software for the company. Doing business in China has proved difficult for others. HEI Industries recently pulled out of a power plant venture in Inner Mongolia after it had trouble enforcing its contract, losing $25 million in the process. "There's no reliable legal system," complained HEI President Bob Clarke.
However, with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Zhu warning officials that with WTO status comes the need for reform and compliance with regulations, a more predictable business environment will likely take hold. Hawaii should seek to take full advantage of China's new economic footing.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, assistant managing editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, assistant managing editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comRichard Halloran, editorial page director, 529-4790; rhalloran@starbulletin.com
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