Live Thread w/ Jim Donovan 9/08

[H20]

Welcome one again Mr. Donovan! Thank you once again for spending time with the Sports Hawaii Ohana!

[H20]

The green roofs were a nice touch to Aloha Stadium, but incomplete. Will they be working on that at all before the next home game or any other time this season or is it an off-season project? Also, will they be changing the seat colors as well? Thanks in advance for your time!

[H20]

Not sure if you can share it with us but was there a reason why WSU pulled out of our 2011 game? Are there any interesting options to replace them? Thank you!

[Jim Donovan]

Good morning! Thank you for making the date and time change. Let's begin....

[H20]

any idea how i would get some UH gear in Hong Kong?

[H20]

Good morning! Thank you for making the date and time change. Let's begin....

As always, whatever is best for you. Also a Moderator change, Scott couldn't be here right now so this is the first time I'm handling this

[H20]

Going back to Aloha Stadium, a couple turf related questions:

HI Jim,

One thing I noticed at the stadium was the turf. I was surprised to see how worn and bad it was. Are there any future plans that you know of to replace it?

Jim:

A follow-up question on the turf at Aloha Stadium. Is there any way that stadium management can soften the turf in the short term to help alleviate issues that caused our players getting all their abrasions (i.e. removing the paint and repainting, adding more rubber pellets...)

Aloha,

hilorain

I'll pause here for now and give you some time, Jim.

[Jim Donovan]

The green roofs were a nice touch to Aloha Stadium, but incomplete. Will they be working on that at all before the next home game or any other time this season or is it an off-season project? Also, will they be changing the seat colors as well? Thanks in advance for your time!

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travo66 -

My understanding is that the roof project and some of the other work being done on the structure of the Stadium will actually happen between January and August of 2010 so I don't anticipate much change for the rest of this season. I think the green looks really nice and of course it's nice to know that the sections that have been recently painted have also gone through structural refurbishment (which means they'll last longer and should be safer). I don't know about the seats at this point -- I don't recall the seats being replaced as a part of the master plan in the next couple years.

[wilderstreet]

Jim,

What was the reason that last week's game was played on Friday. While we had a decent turnout of 33,000, I'm sure we lost some fans because of work schedules and concerns about Friday pau hana traffic.

[dcwarrior]

how are you approaching fundraising in these uncertain times? Are you reaching out to the potential big donors?

[Jim Donovan]

Not sure if you can share it with us but was there a reason why WSU pulled out of our 2011 game? Are there any interesting options to replace them? Thank you!

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Scott -

The reason the AD from WSU stated in the letter was "changes in the Pac-10 scheduling". Whether this is the only reason or not, I don't know. Sometimes when schools cancel games, it's because the head coach doesn't want to play that team or thinks the away trip is not in their best interest (i.e. sometimes a team will cancel an away game to schedule a home game replacement).

We will look at all options to replace them in the 2011 schedule, but the reality is there probably aren't many teams left that have the Saturday after Thanksgiving as an open date. We may be able to schedule a game on the other open date we have that year, which is September 24, 2011, but that's not a great date for openings right now either.

[uhwarriors]

I heard that the work on the football offices is supposed to be starting this month. Is that true?

[Jim Donovan]

any idea how i would get some UH gear in Hong Kong?

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krazychinaman -

I don't know of anything in Hong Kong, so the best way is probably through Rainbowtique's internet site. The website address is:

http://www.uhrainbowtique.com/default.asp

[Stretch]

How does the parking passes work with Aloha Stadium?? Does the University pay Aloha Stadium for each parking pass the revenue that would have been generated if the car paid for each game. (Ex. $5 x 7 games = $35) Then the University can keep the extra cost from the fees paid for the pass. If this is correct, wouldn't it be in the best interest of the University to sell as many passes as possible and pay Aloha Stadium for each?? Wouldn't it also benefit the Stadium since they will get their money in hand prior to the season?? I am just thinking about next year to avoid what happened this year to many fans and allows the University to make more money.

[Jim Donovan]

Going back to Aloha Stadium, a couple turf related questions:

HI Jim,

One thing I noticed at the stadium was the turf. I was surprised to see how worn and bad it was. Are there any future plans that you know of to replace it?

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RedZone -

I know Scott Chang, Aloha Stadium manager, has been looking into this. Apparently, the international soccer tournament that was held here about a year and a half ago also complained about the quality of the current field turf -- and said they would return if it was changed/updated. My understanding is Scott has been working with the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Legislature to see if funds can be appropriated to replace the current field turf with a better and newer product that would work for UH football and the international soccer group that would like to come back and play at Aloha Stadium.

Jim:

A follow-up question on the turf at Aloha Stadium. Is there any way that stadium management can soften the turf in the short term to help alleviate issues that caused our players getting all their abrasions (i.e. removing the paint and repainting, adding more rubber pellets...)

Aloha,

hilorain

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hilorain -

There are no simple solutions to "soften" the current turf that I know of... In fact, when the field was originally installed, it was noted that over time the rubber granules would compact which would make the field "faster" for the UH players (which at the time seemed like a benefit since we use the run-and-shoot offense and there's a premium to us having fast wide receivers ans slotbacks). That said, even though I'm sure Scott Chan probably read today's article in the Honolulu Advertiser also, I will follow up with a telephone call to him to see if the manufacturer has any recommendations they can make. In the short term, our players will probably have to wear knee and elbow pads to help prevent against "turf burns" and "turf cuts". Hopefully, we can come to a long term solution sooner than later.