FieldTurf near
completionA few details need to be ironed
out to complete installation
It will be at least another two weeks before installation of the new FieldTurf playing surface at Aloha Stadium is complete, NFL consultant George Toma said yesterday.
Installation began in early April and was originally targeted for completion in late May.
"The actual laying of the turf was a piece of cake," Toma said. "We always said the detail work would take some time. There's a lot of detail work left, and we need to get a different kind of molding than what we have to put around the surface."
He said the originally allocated rubber molding material might not withstand Hawaii's year-round sunshine.
"The molding that was shipped in might work in New York or Missouri, but not Hawaii," Toma said. "Over here with it 85 degrees all the time it might be a little too soft. It was unforeseeable, and it's nobody's fault. It will be corrected and it won't delay us," Toma said.
Pierre Alarie, who is supervising the installation for FieldTurf, found molding better suited for the job today. FieldTurf is absorbing the cost, Toma said.
Also, large concrete slabs to facilitate changing the stadium's configuration need to be put in place, Toma said.
Concerns have been raised about potential drainage problems.
"We don't know how it will be until it rains and we see what happens," Toma said.
Aloha Stadium events manager Eugene Tokuhama declined to predict when the job will be completely finished.
"It will be done before the football season starts," Tokuhama said.
After long negotiations, FieldTurf, the NFL and the state signed an agreement in January to install the surface at a price of $1.3 million. The state's share is around $800,000.