Cayetano wants
new turf installed

The governor will meet with
the NFL and the tourism
and stadium authorities

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By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

Gov. Ben Cayetano will meet with representatives from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Stadium Authority and the NFL on Monday to try to resolve whether a new surface should be installed at Aloha Stadium before the start of football season.

The governor received "a handful of e-mails" yesterday morning from Hawaii football fans, and had personally returned messages to three of the senders, Cayetano press secretary Kim Murakawa said. The e-mails call for a change in the Aloha Stadium's AstroTurf playing surface to Fieldturf.

Murakawa confirmed the wording of one of the responses, which was posted by its recipient on the Rainbow Sports Network Web site:

I agree the turf should be changed. The proposed new turf will reduce injury not only for the NFL -- but more so for our UH Warriors and high school football teams which use the stadium. I am meeting with Larry Price, the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the NFL on Monday to work out an agreement.

I am confident we will work it out. Meanwhile, I suggest you make your views known to Larry Price and the other members of the Stadium Authority.

Aloha, Ben Cayetano

At the Brian Viloria fight last night, Cayetano said he will meet with Cincinnati Bengals part-owner Ed Miyawaki and Mark Rohlfing representing the NFL, Stadium Authority chairman Larry Price, Hawaii Tourism Authority executive director Rick Humphreys and "probably others."

"Basically, we'll try to see if we can find agreement," Cayetano said. "It's a safety issue. I don't understand the Stadium Authority's point of view."

"I hope we can share expenses with the NFL and get it done."

Earlier this week, Price said no final decision has been made, but he has voiced concerns about changing the stadium surface. He referred further comment to McNeil Wilson Communications, which represents the Stadium Authority.

"It's fairly new," Carolyn Tanaka of McNeil Wilson said. "The current surface cost $2.4 million and five years are left on its warranty. Nobody's approached the Stadium Authority, nobody's brought forth a compelling argument (to change the turf)."

But coaches (including Hawaii's June Jones) and players (including NFL Pro Bowlers) have said they would prefer natural grass or a soft artificial surface like Fieldturf to AstroTurf, and the NFL has reportedly offered to pay for part of the new installation.

The Stadium Authority also has questioned how adaptable a surface like Fieldturf would be for events other than football.

Fieldturf CEO John Gilman said the surface can stand multi-use as well as other artificial turfs. He used Tropicana Field as an example. The indoor stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., is primarily used for baseball.

"They've had motocross, dog runs, over 200 non-athletic events there. They've had everything done there with no problems," Gilman said.

Fieldturf representatives visited Aloha Stadium last month. In a follow-up letter to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Gilman wrote that installation of Fieldturf would cost $877,500 and could be finished in two weeks.

"Even if it was free there would still be questions about maintenance costs," Tanaka said.