Aloha Stadium is offering a “revenue-sharing opportunity” as part of its proposal for a contract with the University of Hawaii for the 2017 football season.
Under the existing deal UH pays approximately $90,000 to $100,000 per game for operational expenses, including security, box office, staffing and cleanup, but is not charged rent and does not share in stadium revenues.
But UH is permitted to buy premium parking spaces and resell them to donors as well as sell fence-line, end zone and on-the-field advertising. It does not share in concessions revenue.
A committee report to the Aloha Stadium Authority said “… (the) stadium manager proposed a revenue-sharing opportunity for UH as credit towards out-of-pocket costs if certain attendance benchmarks are met. This was done as a way to help (the) UH athletic department increase revenues.”
The report said “negotiations have been ongoing for several months and are expected to be finalized prior to the 2017 football season.”
UH’s home opener is Sept. 2 against Western Carolina.
If a new agreement is not reached the parties would continue under the current deal.
UH athletic director David Matlin said in an email, “I believe we are having productive conversations to improve the model. I am appreciative of the dialogue and efforts by Scott Chan and stadium officials.”
Chan, the stadium manager, declined to give specifics of the proposal but said the model was attendance driven based on a 10-year turnstile average, which is approximately 21,000.
Chan said, “I think if we can generate more revenue, then we are willing to entertain thoughts of sharing some of that with this particular client.”
The stadium is charged by the state with generating its own operational and salary funding. The state provides resources for capital improvements.
The stadium said it took in in the neighborhood of $1 million per season in years when UH attendance was up, but in more recent seasons, the revenue has fallen to $700,000 or less.
Meanwhile, in response to a question about the impact of Gov. David Ige’s intention to veto House Bill 627, the Stadium Authority was told by a representative of the Department of Accounting and General Services, the veto of the bill would not slow down planning on the future of the current stadium.
The bill would create an Office of Public-Private Partnerships within the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The OPPP, the Stadium Authority was told, would actually create a bottleneck slowing progress.
In other business, the Stadium Authority said Chan and deputy stadium manager Ryan Andrews qualified for salary adjustments in accordance with guidelines set by the state Department of Human Resources. They are employed on an at-will basis.