GEORGE F. LEE / GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH ticket holder Ed Kido of Aiea inspected his tickets after making his purchase at the Aloha Stadium box office yesterday.
Fans finally Around 5,600 University of Hawaii football tickets were sold yesterday, the first day the public could buy them for individual games, an Aloha Stadium official said.
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Alabama game is nearly
as popular as the openerBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com"On the average, that's about what we expect the first day," stadium box office manager Ainslee Paki said. "It will pick up closer to game day (Saturday), especially since a lot of people get paid Friday."
Usually, individual tickets go on sale two weeks prior to the first game. But this year's late start was due to a delayed season-ticket sale -- the UH Board of Regents had to approve surcharge increases before the season tickets were sold.
Lines moved smoothly in the afternoon, but there were at least two delays in the morning caused by computer problems. When the lines got long, stadium workers ushered customers into an air-conditioned waiting room equipped with televisions.
"We've used that system a lot for concerts in the past four or five years," said Aloha Satdium manager Eddie Hayashi.
Still, some ticket buyers felt inconvenienced by having to wait to buy tickets so close to game day.
"That was definitely a question for me," Ed Kido of Aiea said.
"Why so late when they want to push attendance? Why don't they open earlier?"
The 5,600 tickets sold included those purchased by phone and outlets other than the stadium, Paki said.
GEORGE F. LEE / GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
The line of ticket buyers had thinned dramatically by yesterday afternoon as UH football fans trickled in to buy season tickets at the box office at Aloha Stadium.
"We got a lot of calls from Alabama on the charge line," he said.
Tickets for the Nov. 30 game against the Crimson Tide were almost as popular as those for Saturday's against Eastern Illinois.
Paki said 2,100 were sold for Eastern Illinois and 1,982 for Alabama. Around 300 each were sold for the other six home games. UH sold approximately 24,500 sets of season tickets, an increase of around 500 from last year.
Also, 256 free tickets for the Eastern Illinois game were distributed to UH students by midafternoon yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center. They are still available free for students with current UH IDs.
The Aloha Stadium Box Office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday except holidays. It is also open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. through halftime on game day.
Tickets are also available at Ticket Plus outlets, and by phone at 526-4400 or on the stadium charge line at 484-1122 or (800) 291-3999. (Convenience fees apply for phone sales.)
Star-Bulletin reporter Grace Wen contributed to this report.
All times Hawaii time UH schedule
Aug. 31, Eastern Illinois, 6:05 p.m.
Sept. 6, at Brigham Young (ESPN), 1 p.m.
Sept. 21, at UTEP*, 3:05 p.m.
Sept. 28, SMU*, 6:05 p.m.
Oct. 5, at Boise State*, 2:05 p.m.
Oct. 12, Nevada*, 6:05 p.m.
Oct. 19, Tulsa*, 6:05 p.m.
Oct. 25, at Fresno State* (ESPN2), TBA
Nov. 2, San Jose State*, 6:05 p.m.
Nov. 16, at Rice*, 10 a.m.
Nov. 23, Cincinnati, 6:05 p.m.
Nov. 30, Alabama, 3:05 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 7, San Diego State, 6:05 p.m.
* WAC game
In 1998, junior Chad Shrou was a busy man. He punted a Hawaii school-record 82 times for 3,133 yards, also a UH mark. So much punting doesn't equate into team success, and that was an understatement for the Rainbows, who went 0-12. The closest UH came to victory was a 30-21 loss at Utah in the second game of the year, and coach Fred von Appen was fired after posting a 5-31 record in three seasons.
Shrout finished with school career records of 263 punts for 10,849 yards.
Today, Shrout lives in California, where he coaches football.
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