So what's going on with the Hawaii stadium situation?

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FBS football games are typically played in large, permanent stadiums…the sort of places that seat more than 25,000 spectators. But sometimes, they aren’t.

In my neck of the woods, we have the Northwestern Lakefront Stadium. I toured the facility before it was completely finished, and then even took my wife and kids to a game there. As I understand it, while not perfect, just about everybody involved with the project would consider it a smashing success.

But even though us national media types look at the Lake Michigan views and wonder, “wait, why doesn’t Northwestern just make this place the stadium?”, everybody knows this isn’t forever. Ground has already technically broken for the new Ryan Field, and if all goes according to plan, it will be ready for the 2026 football season.

But the Wildcats aren’t the only program playing in a temporary, on-campus field. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are also playing in something of a makeshift stadium. But for how long…is a more complicated question.

In case you forgot, here’s why the ‘Bows are playing in a temporary stadium

Hawaii used to play their home football games at Aloha Stadium, a 50,000-capacity stadium a few miles away from campus. But the stadium, built in the 1970s, began to physically deteriorate, with upgraded needed to not just improve the fan experience, but to operate safely. In 2020, the stadium stopped scheduling new events completely, and UH needed to find a new home, and fast.

There aren’t exactly dozens of other possible stadiums on the islands, and school officials figured their best option would be to play on campus at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex, which was being used for women’s soccer and track events. The school erected temporary bleachers, added new hospitality areas and private suites, and today, the stadium can hold close to 17,000 fans.

But the original plan was to only play in the facility until the 2024 season. Well, it’s the 2024 season…and construction on a new Aloha Stadium hasn’t even started yet.

So what’s the plan? Will Hawaii football ever relocate to a larger, multipurpose stadium outside of Honolulu? And what happens if that stadium never gets built?

I caught a Hawaii home game earlier this week…and then asked multiple athletic officials about what happens next.

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