Disclaimer

Personal Opinion of the game day atmosphere. 

As you walk over from the parking structure and look down, you can see Na Koa’s booster club having their pre-game BBQ over by Klum Gym and I thought to myself, I guess we can have grills and parties on campus? But I also believe you are able to get into that party for $25 from what I’ve read.

For the first time this season I was able to take part in the pre-game festivities over at the LES. For what it’s worth, it’s a cute little get up that can bring families a little bit of enjoyment before entering the stadium for the game. I’ll admit, I was expecting more and came away a little underwhelmed. You’ll see two bounce houses, a tackling and throwing station and a picture taking area in front if the helmet the football team used to run out of. I got to enjoy music from B.E.T but I found is odd that the music stage faces towards the third base side of the baseball field and not towards the grandstand of the stadium. Between the stage and the grandstand you’ll see a little gaming area with Jenga, Axe throwing and other games that adults would usually enjoy while having a beer. So the real entertainment is the people playing the games and not the band. The “beer garden” is not a beer garden, it’s just a vendor selling beer. The pre-game festivities at the LES wasn’t a bad experience, but I do think the placement of everything can be improved for better enjoyment.

As I sat down behind home plate enjoying the B.E.T show, I did notice the San Jose State fan group enjoying a tailgating party in left field behind the batting cage. That’s not a bad thing, but what about the UH fans, create something like that for us. The baseball stadium alone you’ll see a lot of wasted space that could be revenue generators for the athletic program. Instead of having parked cars in the concourse of the home teams bullpen and Heineken bullpen area why not turn those areas into revenue generators. Give us an actual tailgate area, a beer garden, SOMETHING. I have noticed there is no creativity in showing UH fans a good time.

IMO fans can understand the implications of tail gaiting in the parking structure. There are fire hazards and no fire lanes in case of a fire. But what fans don’t understand is why can we not have a poke bowl, spam musubi, a bento while waiting for the game to start? What are the on campus and state laws in regards to tailgating on upper campus where everything is open air parking. Hawaii people tend to respect everything and clean up after themselves. The UH campus as a whole are shooting themselves in the foot as far as generating revenue and losing the fan base.

Even though it was on a Friday afternoon, UH football had a winnable game versus a name brand PAC-12 opponent for the home season opener and they were unable to sellout a 15K seat “stadium.” You can point finger in any which way or at whoever you want, but the problem doesn’t fall on just the UH Atheltic department. It took me a while to get the courage to write this because I like to avoid negativity as much as possible, but here it goes. After attending the first two home games of the season it’s easy to see where the state of the WHOLE athletic program is but I’m going to use the football program as an example.

Why are our attendance numbers so low? There are many reasons for this and we can go on forever. I’d first like to say, kudos to the former UHAD for throwing the best version of a football stadium you could in such a short amount of time and with the budget limits that you had. The venue is cozy and intimate for a college football game and for the most part a success for a “temporary,” stadium while we wait for NASED to be built in 2040. If I remember correctly my season tickets at Aloha Stadium were the same as it is now for sideline premium seating. Personally I don’t mind paying these premium prices because I know that the program needs it. But for the casual fan or the fan that really wants that tailgate party, it isn’t going to happen. I’ve heard it over and over again for fans, how do you expect us to purchase tickets at the same price as we are at the stadium. Honestly those corner sideline seats and end zone seats should be $10-15 a piece at the most. You need to get fans into the stadium for them to spend money.

Concessions - you need quick hitters- Musubi’s, Poke Bowls, grab and go bentos etc. We don’t need to be wine and dined while we’re trying to get back to our seats within 5 minutes.

Tailgating – has been the biggest talked about topic as far as attendance goes and it is true. Tailgating is a tradition that friends and family took pride in and looked forward too during the offseason. Parking lot DJs, shave ice stands, the wild tailgating lane walking up to the stadium. We’ll never have this again, but let’s make new traditions. I think fans are aware now that there are fire codes and fire lanes laws that don’t allow us to tailgate in the parking structure. What’s wrong with upper campus? Is it the upper campus administration? Sure does sound like it, they haven’t been really supportive for athletics in the past either. How about this, you charge $500 per stall on upper campus, regulate grilling to electric and gas grills. Provide each paid for Tailgating stall with a Trash can and UH logo pop up tent and call it a day. Lower and upper campus can split the revenue 50/50. 1000 parking stalls, 500K, 250k split both way’s. WIN WIN for everyone. You don’t want the tent and trash can, $300 per stall and you are responsible for your own trash and clean up.

Stadium and lower campus upgrades- Regardless if NASED gets built or not, history shows the state will provide the bare minimum in helping UH athletics, odd being we’re the only Div. 1 athletic program in the state. With that said, I think fans are slowly adapting to change and are slowly changing their tune for an on-campus stadium. Yes traffic can and may very well be bad, but its 6-7 Saturday’s a year. But it’s can’t be worse than competing with traffic in Manoa M-F, rush hour traffic and 4-5 other schools in the area to deal with, that along with 20,000 faculty and staff at UH Manoa.

Mr. Angelos has already stated they are planning a lower campus master plan which is relieving to hear. But let’s include a revamped on-campus stadium into this picture. How about this, relocate the sand volleyball courts to Cooke practice field where the new track and soccer stadium will be. The whole complex on that side can be named after Patsy Mink and other influential females in the programs history. Extend the TC Ching concrete complex building over where the sand courts used to be to add 1500-2000 seats. Build two levels of Press and luxury suites to replace those temporary set ups and you have one sideline of a stadium complete. Concessions and bathrooms are taken cared of for that side already. Relocate the field and bring it up right next to the Ching building. Build the Diamond Head end zone so it connects to the Les Murakami stadium so we are able to utilize the concessions and bathrooms in the baseball stadium. With all that relocation, it will open up a ton of space on the Makai sideline and Ewa end zone to have a bigger sideline section and incorporate a football facility within that structure. You can also use an athlete’s lounge level for a sideline suite section for club and corporate donors.

Klum Gym is a waste of space and should be transformed into a two-story weight room and training facility. Transfer all the weights and equipment that sit in the Waterhouse weight room for the bottom level and add a turfed level to the top. All those training equipment you see behind the Makai sideline can also be transferred to the Klum facility. Now with all that open space underneath the Arena, You can build a new and bigger H-zone, make a pre-game indoor club area for all sports. The budget I know is small but be creative and at the same time the State needs to INVEST more in the program.

Fundraising and donor levels – There is a big problem with the way UH runs it’s AKA, H-club and smaller booster clubs. I have a friend who’s a fan of another program and he explained to me there is one foundation that determines donor levels regardless of where the money goes too.

UH football for example, You have the H-club and you have Na Koa. You can donate 100K to Na Koa, but it won’t mean anything when you want to buy season tickets for football. You’ll still have to spend money with the H-club account in order to get to a certain order of priority. That is one small example in a huge problem. Anytime time you donate to any program, it should be shown in a main account under your name that determines your status level for ticket priority, prizes, giveaways or whatever it may be.

Where does this UH athletic program want to go? Do we keep complacent and roll with the punches or do we take that gamble put our eggs in one basket and go for it. If the UHAD and upper campus show’s it’s doing its part in growing the program, investing in facilities and showing progress the fans will take notice and reciprocate.

Extra Credit: Here’s an idea, Ohana Day. Something like Island Day spring game or the Title 9 social held last year. Let’s include all programs in a one day or one weekend event.  Invite families down to lower campus before fall or the spring seasons and have the athletic programs showcase the facilities, player introductions and just show what UH is and the vision for the future. We can have children hit in the batting cages or take ground balls at the Les or Wahine softball stadium, shoot some hoops in the arena. Have some play around flag football games, provide a media area where friends and family can have fun taking pictures and fake interviews. Provide future facility plans and hold a fundraising event with silent auctions or volunteer donations. Beer gardens, food trucks, games, prizes, craft fairs. Make it an annual event that brings the fan base and athletic program together.

This athletic program has potential for so much growth, we just need the right people in the right places to do it.

When the new AD comes in he needs to maximize the use of space at Lower Campus to bring in more money.

One suggestion would be to sell space for retail like a mini mall where you can bring more foot traffic at sporting events. You already have a parking structure in place.  Restaurants can host the fans before attending the games. Maybe have a sports bar/ entertainment center like a Dave and Busters near the Stan Sheriff Center for both customers and student athletes to have fun.  Let those establishment handle the liquor license since it seems so strict selling alcohol there at UH.

Also there needs to be a bigger merchandise store somewhere on Lower Campus. Some good stuff are at the Bookstore across from Dole Street but there should be a bigger store than the small Rainbowtique at the Stan. 

Hearing the football team is bonding in the off-season through helping out our community it’s only right to help them back with the resources they need. As the only FBS school in the state it is a shame that they don’t have an updated training facility for themselves. If we don’t invest in helping these student athletes get the things they need to be successful they will not be on a regular basis like a Boise State.  

While it’s great local businesses are getting these Braddahs fed at their restaurants. the whole department needs a better service than Sudexo or at least something made fresh at the facilities and always on site. 

All these mentioned obviously needs money coming from somewhere. UH should raise the student fees to help pay for the nutritional side of feeding these men and women. The big projects like the football training facility will be harder but hopefully someone like a Clarence TC Ching, Weineburg can donate a good portion of it and UH can match it like they did with the original Ching Complex. 

Why for the longest time has there not been a mascot for the University of Hawaii? We had Vili the Warrior and I know he was a paid entertainer but we should have a Warrior again as a mascot on the field or court. How about the Hawaiian Studies program come up with a project to make a mascot that fits culturally or have a Hawaiian student be a mascot with a scholarship. 

If they can’t or don’t want to portray a Hawaiian Warrior then they should have a mascot that looks like a knight or a Mandalorian.  With the new AD coming in he or she should thinking of raising the school spirits and one way is to bring back a mascot.