HONOLULU — Besides putting the finishing touches on an expansion to 15,000 seats at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, the University of Hawaii is working on some tweaks to its gameday experience for the upcoming 2023 football season.
New UH Athletic Director Craig Angelos laid out some plans for the makeshift facility to Spectrum News this week. Angelos, a career athletics aministrator who was hired in May from Long Island University, called the changes that have already occurred at Ching Complex a “miracle” in the time since UH pivoted from shuttered Aloha Stadium to play on campus prior to the 2021 season.
The major work is just about done. UH has its new aluminum bleacher seating up in the Ewa end zone and in the two corners on the makai side of the field to expand from last season’s 9,300 capacity. It has successfully imported the Aloha Stadium 75-foot video board and it was in use as a gigantic countdown clock prior to Saturday’s team scrimmage.
To lead off a controlled scrimmage Saturday at Ching Complex, the Rainbow Warriors simulated a gameday run out of the newly created tunnel under some of the corner seating by the UH locker room.
Angelos said all the major updates at Ching will be ready for the Sept. 1 home opener against Stanford.
“The scoreboard looks good. The seating looks good,” Angelos said. “I think (the construction crew) is going to clean up the last few areas.”
After some brainstorming sessions with his team, Angelos emerged with a few more ideas. Here’s what he told Spectrum News on each of them.
Premium seating
Besides the seats in elevated luxury suites on the makai side of the field, Ching Complex did not have any premium seats for fans the last two years. Angelos said UH is adding more than 100 of them before the opener. There will be 96 in the Ewa end zone and 14 above each of the two makai corner tunnels. A UH spokesperson said the seats are leather and can recline.
“We think there’s a demand for it, and so we’re going to roll that out. Hopefully that will be a new addition that will be profitable for us, and also something the fans will enjoy.”
Pregame parties at Les Murakami Stadium for all home games
While outright tailgating is still not allowed for football games on campus, UH hopes to make an event out of pregame gatherings at adjacent Les Murakami Stadium. It plans to have a family zone, alumni tents with food and drink, and live music booked through Hawaii’s Finest.
“Kind of make it more of a carnival feel to hopefully invite guests to come there and spend a little time there before walking into their seats.”
VIP receptions on eves of games
Angelos plans to invite the opposing school’s president, athletic director and donors to mingle with their UH counterparts at a Waikiki hotel to watch the sunset the nights before games. For him it is a callback to his time as associate athletic director at Miami.
“I think that’ll be a nice friend-raising activity there. … Bacardi was a big supporter in Miami. We used to have these big gatherings the night before – we called them Bacardi parties the night before at their headquarters.”
Selling off the UH AD’s suite for games
Angelos plans to mingle during UH home games instead of watching the game from the UH athletic director’s suite along the 50-yard line. The suite has 30 seats.
“Why not sell that to our (fans) on a game-by-game basis? (Associate athletic director) Kimo Kai is the one selling that, and he’s convinced it will have a demand for that. We’ve already sold a few already just by word of mouth.”
Expanding auctions on the UH Athletics website
In addition to selling off his suite for games, Angelos plans to auction off his parking stall at Manoa Lower Campus. He figures he can rideshare to games, or walk. He said UH will add a regular section on its athletics website for auctioned items like that.
“We’re looking at auctioning off something that happened in the game, like maybe you get Timmy Chang to sign his hat that he wore in the game, then auction it off to the highest bidder. Fun little unique items, experiential type of items we thought would be creative and fun and make a little revenue.”
Football alumni rooting section
While former football players have mingled around the Ching Complex track during games the last two years, Angelos wants to create a specific section for them along the sidelines near the 10-yard line to encourage the active players. It is another callback to his time at Miami.
“Timmy wants to do it and I think the players would like to do it. The difficult part is making sure they stay in the same area and it’s not disruptive to the game, that kind of stuff. But if it’s done right it can be a really motivational piece for the current players.”
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.