Sunday, July 25, 2010

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Aloha Stadium?

What Hawaii ought to consider is putting a "roof" of shade netting (they make it out of recycled plastic bottles) supported/suspended from the highest points of the stadium (nobody can kick or throw that high), and making that structure useful 24/7 -- instead of only at night, when the national television audience has gone to sleep, or is watching more entertaining infomercials.

Then you can use that structure for many other kinds of events -- and actually attract people to a pleasant environment rather than the hostile one of being baked in the sun. The whole stadium is not designed with any intelligence and practicality for use as a community resource -- as is typical of major capital projects in Hawaii (need we say "Natatorium"?), and so we spend millions, and we're up to billions now, on projects that don't make any sense from Day One, that gives us an excuse to throw more money at it in perpetuity, trying to make a half-baked idea from the start, into Hawaii's Next Great Hope -- that Hawaii's politicians promise is the only thing separating Hawaii from Paradise.

It doesn't matter how good the new seats are -- because they can't stand up to that unrelenting sun, combined with the corrosive effects of the salt air. So first, you have to change the ambient operating conditions -- so that you can have concerts, conventions, fairs, any kind of event -- because one can control those conditions to a great extent -- as the challenge for every community to focus their talents and resources in overcoming, and even exploiting, rather than the resignation, that there is never anything one can do about anything so why bother doing anything else but eating and drinking (drugging) oneself to a premature and untimely death?

Meanwhile, we'll just wait for Uncle Dan to bring in pork barrel money for senseless projects without end.

The lack is not about money, but a community's will to change what can be changed, accepting what can't be changed -- and knowing the difference.

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