The state has shortlisted two development teams to build and operate the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District, or NASED.
The public-private partnership would deliver a new stadium, 4,500 residential units, as well as retail and commercial spaces. The chosen master developer will operate and maintain the facility for 30 years.
Both teams are a consortium of developers along with architects, general contractors and more:
Aloha Halawa District Partners: Development Ventures Group, Inc., Stanford Carr Development, LLC, Ameresco, Inc., and Aloha Stadium Community Development, LLC (The Cordish Companies) as the lead equity members; RMA Architects, Populous, SB Architects, Henning Larsen, Alakea Design group, and WCIT Architects as the design team; Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Inc. and AECOM Hunt as the construction team; and Castle & Cooke Hawaii and Wilson Okamoto Corp. as other members.
Waiola Development Partners: EllisDon Capital, Inc., BSC Acquisitions II, LLC, and Kobayashi Group LLC as the lead equity members; Design Partners Incorporated, MANICA Architecture, PA, and Stantec Architecture, Inc. as the design team; Nan, Inc. as the construction team; and Machete Group, ES CON Sports & Entertainment, Biederman Redevelopment Ventures, SSFM International, Inc., Rider Levett Bucknall Ltd., SHADE Group LLC, and PBR Hawaii & Associates, Inc. as other members.
The two development teams — which the state is calling "priority-listed offerors" — were whittled down after NASED issued a request for proposals in December.
A specialist evaluation committee of state employees and subject-matter experts from the development industry scored the proposals based on administrative response, as well as technical response, specifically project understanding, team structure, governance, experience and financial capability.
The two development teams will be the only groups that can submit proposals for the project. The proposals will be due in the summer. The state should select a final developer by the fall.
“We were very pleased with the response to the qualifications phase of the RFP,” Brennon Morioka, Stadium Authority chair, said in a statement.
“The level of interest by potential bidders demonstrated the attractiveness of NASED. And the quality of the priority-listed offerors gives us confidence that the NASED project will result in not just a new stadium but a revitalized community we can all be proud of," he continued.
Some of the companies involved in the two consortiums were also picked two years ago to build the district surrounding the new Aloha Stadium. At the time, the project was split into two — one contract to build the surrounding mixed-use district, and the other to build the stadium.
But that plan was scrapped by Gov. David Ige's administration.
The state's latest plan to shift more of the cost to a private entity was developed last year. For its part, the state appropriated $400 million in 2022 for initial design and construction. The developer will obtain its own financing to pay for other stadium enhancements, operations and maintenance.
The state hopes to have the stadium open for the 2028 University of Hawaiʻi football season. The school last played a game there in 2019, and the stadium has been closed to events since December 2020.
