RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM University of Hawaii football fans Kazuko Imai, left, and Brendon Hayashi compared tickets to the Sugar Bowl they had just picked up yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center box office.

UH comes up with additional 1,000 tickets

The University of Hawaii is making another 1,000 Sugar Bowl tickets available to Warriors season ticket holders today.

UH athletics officials have been scrambling to fill requests for tickets after they initially underestimated the demand from fans who want to attend the Jan. 1 game in New Orleans against the University of Georgia.

Just where the latest batch of 1,000 tickets came from was not made clear. Asked about the sources, Derek Inouchi, media relations director of the athletic department, said, "I'm really not sure." He also did not know where the seats are located in the Louisiana Superdome.

The 1,000 tickets will be available solely to season ticket holders who have not had a chance to purchase tickets since UH sold out 8,500 tickets in two days a few weeks ago.

Athletic director Herman Frazier said yesterday in a news release that the department has "worked tirelessly" to meet the demand. "We're hopeful that this final offering of tickets will satisfy the needs of most or all of the season ticket holders who were interested in tickets," he said.

UH initially agreed to accept 13,500 of 17,500 tickets allotted to both UH and the University of Georgia after it underestimated ticket demand. Those 4,000 tickets shifted to Georgia.

At the same time, UH placed 5,000 tickets on reserve for team and university use, travel packages and corporate sponsors.

After complaints about a ticket shortage, UH requested extra tickets and received 1,500 back from the Sugar Bowl. With today's supply, that is a total of 2,500 intended to accommodate season ticket holders.

UH officials have yet to release a list of people who will represent the team and university at the Sugar Bowl.

"They haven't finalized that list," Inouchi said yesterday.

Meanwhile, some season tickets holders who picked up their tickets yesterday were disappointed at the location of their seats.

A Manoa resident, who did not want to give her name, said her 11 seats are in the middle of the end zone instead of at the 20-yard sideline behind the UH bench, where she normally sits at Aloha Stadium.

"I'm not happy about that," she said outside of the ticket office. "We thought they would give us equivalent seats."

But Kalihi resident Vincent Scharsch, 68, said he was elated once he had his two Sugar Bowl tickets in his hands. "It feels like heaven. ... I get all chicken skin."

"It's once in lifetime, this game," he said.

Aloha provides private charter for group to attend big game

University of Hawaii football fever has reached a new level.

An unidentified Honolulu businessman has arranged a private charter on an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737-700 aircraft to transport friends and business associates to the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl game against the University of Georgia. Those flying on the trip will share the charter costs.

The charter, which can carry up to 124, will leave on Dec. 29.

Aloha, which is providing four charters to the game, declined to identify the individual.

Another Aloha charter will be transporting Hawaii football fans who booked their travel arrangements with Travel Ways, a Honolulu travel agency.

That Travel Ways charter, which leaves on Christmas Day and returns on Jan. 2, still has five packages available in coach for $2,825 per person and 10 in first class for $4,165 per person. Both fares are based on double occupancy and include airfare, airport transfers, seven nights in a hotel based on double occupancy and the football game ticket.

For information or reservations, call Rachel Shimamoto at 597-1425.

Shimamoto said the charter initially was set aside for the football team and became available when the university decided to use Hawaiian Airlines for its football team charter. Aloha chartered the football team to its five road games during the regular season.

Two other chartered Aloha jets will depart on Dec. 28 with the UH marching band, cheerleading squad and the Rainbow Dancers.

Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman said Christmas is a slow travel day, and the airline was able to provide the charter on that day and others by consolidating flights and reaccommodating its passengers.

The airline said a Boeing 737-800 that is being used for some of the charters can carry 162 passengers.