Hamada to chair Stadium Authority
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
Eddie Hamada, special assistant to the headmaster and longtime coach and athletic director at Iolani School, will succeed Larry Price as chairman of the Stadium Authority effective Sunday.
Hamada, 73, has been on the authority's board for more than six years. He takes over as chairman at a pivotal time.
The authority recently approved replacing the existing AstroTurf at Aloha Stadium with FieldTurf to satisfy contractual terms between the NFL and the Hawai'i Tourism Authority to replace the playing surface by the 2003 Pro Bowl.
Though efforts are being made to get the turf in by Aug. 2 — the deadline set by the Stadium Authority to allow time to move the stands and paint the field — the process of gathering information to determine if that's possible is taking longer than anticipated.
FieldTurf CEO John Gilman said that meeting the Aug. 2 deadline is "virtually impossible." The turf can be laid down in about two weeks, he said. But it may take longer than that to prepare the field, especially if a geotechnical study on the stadium's subsurface find repair work to be extensive.
The study, which was paid for by FieldTurf, was completed last week. Officials are waiting for the results of boring samples, which may take up to a week.
The study will determine the structure of the subsurface and how much repair work will need to be done before FieldTurf can install its patented grass-like surface.
Tau Harrington, sports events consultant for the HTA, reported the status of the study to the HTA at its monthly meeting yesterday. No action was taken.
"The next step is to determine whether or not the scope of work that needs to be done can be completed in the time frame that's been presented," Harrington said.
Some have said meeting the Aug. 2 deadline, even if the subsurface needs little or no work, will be impossible.
"It's a tight time frame," said authority boardmember Robin Campaniano, who heads a subcommittee formed to help expedite the installation of the new turf. "But there's got to be more than one way to skin a cat."
Subcommittee members have been brainstorming different, sometimes "off-the-wall solutions," Campaniano said.
"Everybody is trying to figure out how best to pull this off," he said.
Enter Hamada.
The longtime authority boardmember remains confident the terms of the contract will be met. He credits Price, whose term as Stadium Authority chairman is expiring, with laying a solid foundation from which to work.
"Working with this group, I feel very confident about our direction," Hamada said. "Larry has been a good mentor to us. He worked us over like we're his football team. I'm very well-versed about all the problems."
Hamada has been with 'Iolani School since 1953. He will continue to serve as special assistant to the headmaster during his term as Stadium Authority chairman.
Hamada said he doesn't plan any changes within the authority. Instead, he wants to "stay on track" with the authority's mission of overseeing Aloha Stadium with the best interests of the public in mind.
"We're dealing with the public's property," he said. "Our main concern is to see that it's a safe place for players and spectators."
