The Aloha Stadium Authority on Wednesday unanimously authorized two of four contracts needed to begin demolition of the old stadium, but plans for a new facility were scaled down and its completion date was pushed back to 2029.

After emerging from executive session, the authority’s board of directors voted in favor of the ground lease with the Aloha Hālawa District Partners, a consortium of developers, and an agreement on development and operation of the new stadium.

Negotiations continue on two other contracts related to utilities and the development of the surrounding 78-acre area, which is envisioned as an entertainment district with about 4,400 new housing units.

But the approved contracts pave the way to begin razing the old 50,000-seat stadium later this month, according to former Stadium Authority chair Brennon Morioka, who now advises the governor about the project.

The contracts have not been made public, but Morioka said they will likely be posted online at around the same time.

Planners had said the new stadium could be ready in time for the University of Hawaiʻi’s 2028 football season, but the board changed that to March 2029. Morioka blamed national supply chain issues for the delay.

In addition, Pereira said the expected number of seats has decreased from 25,000 to 22,500, although the design will allow for more seats to be added later.

Remaining contracts include a shared utilities agreement and a master agreement for the rest of the area’s footprint. Morioka said verbal agreements have been made but need to be put in writing. He declined to elaborate because those contracts haven’t been finalized yet. He hopes the Stadium Authority can approve them within the next month or two so the state comptroller can sign the contracts.

To pay for the two contracts approved Wednesday, the developer can use the state’s allocated $350 million in addition to roughly $50 million of state money sitting in a special fund for project management, Pereira said in a text.

The Stadium Authority settled on its preferred offerer Aloha Hālawa District Partners last fall, the sole remaining group in the running. The group is a collection of about a dozen firms including Stanford Carr Development and Alakea Design Group.

Aloha Stadium was built in 1975 and closed in 2020 because of structural concerns. The plan is to methodically demolish it over the next 10 months, which Morioka said reduces costs by about $90 million because the new stadium can use some of the old foundations. 

Along with the stadium itself, a large part of the eventual vision is a vibrant entertainment neighborhood with thousands of units of housing along Honolulu’s Skyline rail system.