Yearlong renovation of War Memorial Stadium could pave way for Hula Bowl, concerts, rodeos

To be able to attract University of Hawaiʻi football games and other big events in the future, Maui County plans to shut down War Memorial Stadium in June of 2025 for a one-year renovation project.

The stadium in Wailuku was originally set to be shut down during the current school year, but permit and supply delays pushed things back. The county is still waiting on final permits for the project, but confirmed the details of the closure timeline to Hawai’i Journalism Initiative on Tuesday. 

“We’ve got to modernize it and get it to where it’s attractive,” said Shane Dudoit, deputy director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The $8.62 million project includes electrical upgrades, a new scoreboard, renovations to the press box built in 1971 and repairing the metal bleachers, which were installed in 1998 for hosting the first of eight consecutive Hula Bowls, the postseason All-Star game for college players.

Upgrades to several small structures for concessions, restrooms, storage and ticket booths, a new public address system, replacing the goalposts, adding broadcasting platforms and an ADA ramp are also part of the project.

The temporary closure of the War Memorial Stadium will force the Maui Interscholastic League and Baldwin and Maui high schools to adapt for the 2025-26 school year. This includes moving home football games and graduations for Baldwin and Maui high schools, home soccer games for Baldwin, and the majority of track and field meets for the entire league.

Public walkers and joggers, and youth track meets, also will be forced out of the facility while a new football scoreboard is installed. The current one is not fully functional.

But when this project and the already underway $28.5 million renovation to the War Memorial Gymnasium structure are completed, Central Maui will have two more quality athletic venues to complement the Maehara Baseball Stadium and Sakamoto Pool.

“It’s going to be the nicest multi-field, multi-arena facility in the state,” Dudoit said. “We’ve got the parking. We’ve got everything. And, it’s centrally located near the airport. Everything works for us rather than these guys going to Honolulu and fighting traffic.”

Dudoit said a goal is to lure the Hula Bowl back to Maui, as well as a wish list that includes monster truck rallies, outdoor concerts, professional bull riding and rodeos.

“Any kind of event that can promote and entertain our people,” he said. “If they want to see a rodeo, maybe a makahiki. It’s limitless what we can do. And, we sure want to keep that grass really nice.”

New events at the stadium also will be good for the economy, which is feeling the effects of the loss of tourists since the fires, he said. According to Hawai’i Tourism Authority data, the number of visitors to Maui through the first nine months of this year is 13% less than the same time period last year.

“I’ve talked to GMs at hotels and they’re suffering,” Dudoit said. “So let’s work to find events and let sports be the reason why people are coming here.”

The long-term impact of the War Memorial Stadium project will enable the facility to remain in the rotation of venues for the state high school track meet. This event has been held at the facility 14 times, every three to four years since 1973.

“It’s for the kids, it’s entertainment, get the kids out of the house, let’s go watch some sports,” Dudoit said.

With the closure of Aloha Stadium on Oʻahu in December 2020 and its pending demolition, War Memorial Stadium became the largest football facility in the state with seating capacity for 15,631 fans.

But the bleachers installed in both end zones of War Memorial Stadium for the Hula Bowl, which account for about half of the fan seating, were deemed unsafe to use in 2023 due to badly rusted screws, nuts and bolts that hold them together.

“They’ve gotten to the point where they’re old, so we need to go in and repair the screws for all of them and make it safe for everyone,” Dudoit said.

The War Memorial Complex was built in the 1950s to honor Maui residents who died during military services. It started with the gym and expanded to include a pool and youth baseball fields. The stadium was opened in 1971, according to Dudoit, and Maehara Baseball Stadium was added in 1973.

Recently, in September 2020, the county completed a $3 million project that repaved the parking lot, with the addition of 40 stalls to bring the capacity to 807. Underground drainage and 130 trees also were added.

The stadium also closed from October 2022 to April 2023 to resurface the 400-meter track, upgrade drainage and refurbish the original bleachers on the parking lot side of the stadium.

Over the summer, Dudoit walked University of Hawaiʻi football coach Timmy Chang through the sports facility and the press box in anticipation of hosting a UH game. The hope was that UH could play its season opener against Delaware State at the stadium. But the stadium was not in good enough shape, so UH instead played the Aug. 24 game in front of 12,206 fans at Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Honolulu, winning 35-14.

Chang was the UH quarterback on Sept. 8, 2001, when UH beat Montana 30-12 in a game played at War Memorial Stadium in front of 12,863 fans.

Once the renovations are completed at War Memorial Stadium, Dudoit said attracting a Rainbow Warriors football game could be possible.

“They were willing to come over (this) season, but the logistics didn’t work out,” Dudoit said. “But we definitely want them to consider coming back here. They want to come back. One of the obstacles was having locker rooms. Possibly using the War Memorial (auxiliary) locker rooms near the gym.”

The 2024-25 MIL soccer season begins Nov. 23 and the first matches at War Memorial Stadium are a pair of Baldwin matches on Dec. 4 for boys and girls against King Kekaulike. There are also doubleheaders at the stadium for Bears boys and girls matches on Dec. 11, Dec. 18, Dec. 30 and Jan. 8.

The Maui Interscholastic League has on-campus soccer/football usable venues at Kamehameha Schools Maui, Lahainaluna and King Kekaulike.

“Teams are going to have to travel a little bit more out of district, that’s one thing, but I think as far as facilities, I think we will be OK, we have other pretty nice facilities,” King Kekaulike athletic director Mark Makimoto said. “Basically, it’s going to be trying to fit all the games in.

“With boys and girls running the same night, right now it is four total games per night wherever we play at. … With one less site, you are going to be loading it up on another day maybe.”

The field at War Memorial Stadium will remain natural grass even though it takes more management effort than turf.

“But it is one of the more beautiful grass playing surfaces in the state,” Dudoit said. “I say that about that stadium. I say it about Maehara (baseball) Stadium. So, to turf it would be an injustice.”

Baldwin boys soccer coach Kaniela Palazzotto said his team will miss the stadium for next year.

“One, it’s a great venue,” he said. “It’s a little tight for soccer, but the big games are always fun to have in the stadium. It is an old stadium, the Hula Bowl bleachers are newer but they are rusty just because they are so close to the ocean, but I think upgrade to the stadium to give the kids of Maui to play in a pretty great venue is always awesome.”

The 2023 MIL track regular-season schedule of eight meets was held on alternating weeks between King Kekaulike and Kamehameha Maui stadiums. The work on the War Memorial track was completed just in time for the MIL championship and Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association meets to be held April 27-28 and May 5-6, respectively.

The 2024 MIL track and field season had nine of its 10 meets held at War Memorial Stadium, with the lone exception being the Kamehameha Relays on April 12. The 2025 MIL track and field schedule is similar.

“We will have a meeting, discussion among the AD council and look for other venues to host,” said MIL track and field coordinator Mike Ban, the athletic director at Maui High. “We had a similar challenge two years ago when they were fixing the track and we were able to use Kekaulike and Kamehameha and alternate (weeks). There was a small challenge, but we were able to do it.”

Ban said that the same sort of discussions would be needed for football games — Baldwin and Maui High each played at the stadium five times in the 2024 season, including twice against each other — for the 2025 season. The most likely scenarios appear to be Maui and Baldwin high schools sharing home fields with King Kekaulike and Kamehameha Maui for the 2025 football season.

“We want to work together, we know this is for the student-athletes of Maui County, so we want to work in partnership with them as well,” Ban said. “For football, we have had side conversations with athletic directors that have stadiums at their schools and I’m sure that we will work things out. We will look at everything, including some day games and (junior varsity) games at our practice field.”

Meanwhile, the renovations to the War Memorial Gymnasium are expected to be completed in the summer of 2025. The facility is being transformed into a Category 4 hurricane shelter, with reconstruction of county offices on both sides of the gym that house county Parks and Recreation administrative workers and several other county departments.

The gym structure work also includes adding support beams, a new roof, removing leuvers from the gym walls, a new court floor, upgraded restrooms and enclosure of the lobby area.

Dudoit said that the renovated gym could draw UH basketball and volleyball for men’s and women’s teams. 

“Getting these colleges to come here is a good thing,” he said. “Even if it’s UH-Hilo versus Chaminade in a conference game, where it means something, that would be great. We’ve got to figure out where it’s feasible financially for both programs, but if we can help it out then let’s do it.

“This could help our kids to strive to be a little bit better when they see this level of competition,” he said.