HONOLULU — A blessing was received before Kahu Kordell Kekoa even spoke a word.
An offering from above – rain a tad heavier than the typical Manoa mist – descended on a select group of University of Hawaii administrators, elected officials and coaches as a long-awaited dedication was made Tuesday at UH’s Lower Campus Road.
UH coach Bob Coolen beamed as Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium’s $4.5 million home clubhouse was unveiled, featuring a new locker room, players lounge, showers and athletic training room, in addition to a new entry plaza to the stadium for fans.
It was the latest, and final in a series of major upgrades over the last several years to RWSS; among those were new lighting, a batting cage and artificial field turf. Sit-down meetings for the new clubhouse began in 2019, Coolen said, although the COVID pandemic delayed construction, as did some sewer issues.
“I don’t think they understood the scope, the newness of what they were getting,” Coolen, the 31st-year leader of the program, said of his players after Kekoa performed a traditional Hawaiian blessing at the entrance of the clubhouse. “(The interior) was eye-opening for all of us.”
UH players will claim their lockers and move in soon.
Junior first baseman Dallas Millwood said she and teammate Rachel “Bueller” Sabourin started crying when they saw the new digs.
“It was unbelievable,” Millwood said. “It’s amazing seeing that this is something the state of Hawaii did for us. We were very honored; it’s nothing like I’ve seen before, especially for a female sport.”
Millwood said she promptly claimed the No. 10 locker to match her number (even though the seniors are technically supposed to get first picks).
No small feature of the clubhouse, located underneath the first base grandstands, is its direct entry to the first-base dugout, which will be the new side for the home team. That was a key contrast for the Wahine, who previously had to walk along Lower Campus Road to the women’s locker rooms located outside of the Stan Sheriff Center, sometimes late at night.
Money was allocated for the clubhouse from the state Legislature’s contributions to UH Capital Improvements Program and general operating budget.
State Sen. Brian Taniguchi, who represents Manoa and was among the elected officials present for the blessing Tuesday, said UH softball’s run to the Women’s College World Series in 2010 with players like Kelly Majam and Jessica Iwata galvanized support in the Legislature that has lingered.
Taniguchi, as it happens, is Coolen’s warmup partner in the Manoa Makule Softball League.
“A lot of my colleagues are more supportive too; it’s not just like, ‘oh, it’s the softball guys in Manoa,’” Taniguchi told Spectrum News and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser at the RWSS entry plaza. “It’s a statewide interest and support.”
Coolen got wistful reflecting back on what was on the site when he arrived in 1990: a weed-filled patch of grass with low bleachers and “French trenches” of rocks for draining the frequent rain.
He'd pushed for improvements for years.
Some final, minor improvements will include cubby holes for players in the first-base dugout and protection from sun and rain like had been added to the third-base side that UH has occupied all but one year of RWSS’ history. Coolen had preferred that side because of the glaring sun toward first base for 5 p.m. games.
The program hopes that the facility will give it a leg up in recruiting battles, especially as it pertains to peers in the Big West Conference.
“Just difference-making stuff for our team to compete on a national level,” UH Athletic Director David Matlin said at the ceremony. He noted the completion came on the 50th year of the Title IX legislation of 1972 that prevents gender-based discrimination.
Coolen said the clubhouse makes RWSS the jewel of the Big West; Cal State Fullerton is known for its locker rooms near its field to go with batting cages, but not with direct entry to the field like UH’s new facility.
RWSS will play host to top-ranked and defending national champion Oklahoma, featuring local product Jocelyn Alo, in the Bank of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Classic on March 11 and 12.
Coolen notched his 1,100th career victory over Cal State Bakersfield in the Rebel Kickoff tournament in Las Vegas last week after an 0-4 start to the 2022 season with two losses apiece to BYU and UNLV.
UH next hosts Chaminade in an exhibition doubleheader on Friday beginning at 5 p.m.
A list of the RWSS clubhouse features, per UH:
- A new entry plaza, home team locker room with showers and restroom facilities, lounge, training room, coaches' offices, and umpire changing rooms.
- The facility is fully air conditioned.
- Home dugout upgrades including new benches and equipment storage.
- An outdoor viewing room is provided along the first base side of the field, with built-in counters.
- A waiting room for the head coach's office will also have access to the viewing room.
- An audio-visual system with video monitors in the lounge, locker room, training room, and coaches offices.
- New landscaping at the entry plaza and around the locker room building.
