Posted at 11:46 a.m., Thursday, May 24, 2007
New risers installed at Blaisdell Center's arena
Advertiser Staff
The Neal Blaisdell Center's arena is finally getting new risers for people to sit on during shows, according to the city City Department of Enterprise Services.The department is offering a media sneak peek today for the installation of new telescopic seating risers.
The seats that are being replaced were installed at the then-new arena in 1964. The new system costs $2,328,000, which covers design, manufacture and installation of the new risers as well as replacement of the inverted riser stage and new floor chairs.
It took a crew of 12 to 16 people between 16 and 18 hours to set up and take down the old risers, which resemble construction scaffolding of a generation ago.
"This was the hardest manual work at the Blaisdell Center and the source of industrial injuries over the years," said Sidney Quintal, director of the Department of Enterprise Services. "The new system needs only four to six workers, working four to six hours to do the same work. It's much lighter and easier to handle.
"The savings in time and money will enable use to make more use of the arena and will quickly cover the costs of the new system," Quintal said.
The Department of Enterprise Services operates the Neal Blaisdell Center, the Honolulu Zoo, Waikiki Shell and the City's six municipal golf courses.
