Hilo Needs an ARENA.

[terracore]

Usually arenas are built to house the fans of the sports teams that will play there.

[dmbwest]

- 1 vote for stadium here, put it in Kona ....

.... or thousands of dirtbags coming down and never leaving ...

[Seeb]

How much money does the one in Honolulu lose a year?

[kalakoa]

Wrong question -- just think of how much money the County will save!

[Greg]

I think an outdoor "Amphitheater" venue with a covered performing area would be more cost effective. Think; Red Rocks, Hollywood Bowl, Waikiki Shell.

[Seeb]

Rain!

[Loretta]

There is a new outdor venue over in Kona where I have seen several concerts....the Waikoloa Bowl. Wish there were more things going on there.

[Midnight Rambler]

quote:

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Originally posted by davidr

I met a long-timer here and he said that Hilo today reminded him of Honolulu 50 years ago. We, the residents, should ask ourselves...."Do we want to stay the way we are or do we want to go the way of development like Honolulu. If the answer is development...sure there are a lot of upfront costs like a new stadium, a new hotel district, a better cruise ship friendly port, and Hilo sandy beaches to name a few. But managed correctly these amenities would bring new business and tourism to our side of East Hawaii!

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I hope that's just an inapt analogy. Much of Honolulu 50 years ago was beautiful.

[Carey]

After spending a couple of million on the upkeep of EK stadium this last year, I think it is very doubtful that many in the county are gong to run out & build a new one....and the cost of a new one plus the land that would need to be obtained would likely push this idea into the far distant future...

One way some multipurpose stadiums have increased seating is by having different stadium seating stacking. The permanent arrangement at EK is for the tennis courts, A temporary stack that took advantage of a smaller area/stage and the higher roof would add many more to the seating count with greater view fields.

Perhaps those that want more seating can look into the cost of having higher/steeper stacks for special events... but the few that I can think of would probably not offset the cost of these temporary stacks.... but maybe something a little more practical to aspire to in the near future....

[Kapohocat]

Being a veteran employee (re-opening management team in 1982)back in the day at the Universal Amphitheater - and this was a corporate not governmental facility, and also on the other side worked for tour companies:

Universal Ampitheater was an outdoor arena (3rd largest mid-size area in California) and enclosed in 1982. Rumor I heard back in the day that the nearby Hollywood Hills neighbors complained about the noise.

In 2005, Gibson acquired the naming rights and it became the Gibson Amphitheater. In Sept 2013, it is rumored (LA Times) that it will close and be demolished and not be rebuilt as an arena but.... will become the "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" theme park area. How funny to think Jesus Christ Superstar was the 1st at the Amp, and Harry potter is it's demise.

My point is that if this arena with only 6000+ seats could not survive in a city with a population of +3.7 million people, I dont know if Hawaii County could support a theater/arena even of this mid-size. Back in the day, the UA sold out many nights but also had many nights were tickets were given away to employees because the sell rate was so low. We also had "dark weeks" where all the maintenance was done before big shows came through again.

Yes, a couple of times a year like Merrie Monarch it would be nice to have a larger venue but.... even on dark nights the UA/GA took a lot of staffing.

Now if some corporation wants to come in and try it.... I would fully support that endeavor but knowing how a arena/theater/venue is run, I do not trust OUR county to have the experience and hire the right people to know how to do it and make it profitable. It would take a corporate sponsor and a heck of a management company to do it right.

Most artists deals are anywhere from 60/40 (very generous) split to 80/20. And no that means the venue gets the 40% of the tic price not the artist, same with merchandising. The real money at a venue is made on the bar, and food. And with that comes lots of liability.

UH-Manoa couldnt even deal with fake Stevie Wonder deals.

And I could be completely wrong in my assessment and opinion.