McKinley High School started the construction of their stadium bleachers in December 2024, which is expected to be completed by Fall 2026.
The plan for this stadium was former athletic director Neal Takamori’s vision for McKinley High School. Takamori planned for McKinley’s athletic complex to include bleachers, stadium lights and the inclusion of a new baseball field.
“It’s long overdue,” Bob Morikuni, McKinley’s current athletic director, said. “I know former athletic directors and students in the past, going back to years, wanted their own stadium on campus.”
Plans for the field complex started around 20 years ago and started at the price of $17 million. However, as years went on, the price of the complex went up to $29 million, causing the school to ask for more government funding.
Due to the funding of this project, many compromises were made. The stadium lights were put on hold, meaning games will have to be held before dark. Along with that, only one set of bleachers will be built along the Kapiolani side of the stadium.
Along with the lights, additions like a standalone concession stand, bathroom and training room building are on hold. As of right now, the school is trying to get more funding for these additions. The project is being funded entirely by the state.
“We are happy we have a very supportive legislature,” said Principal Ron Okamura. Despite financial endeavors, the project had to undergo challenges with the community. In the past, neighbors would complain about the noises during games and opposed the idea of stadium bleachers, lights and games being held at McKinley.
Okamura said once the track and field were implemented, neighbors started to see the benefits of the athletic complex and asked where the bleachers were. During COVID, the school met with the neighborhood board committee and got approval for the project.
Although the construction and planning of this project has been kickstarted, there are still lingering concerns.
Okamura said after the completion of this project, a problem they may face is overscheduling of the field. McKinley being located at the central middle of Honolulu has attracted many community events to use the campus frequently.
Morikuni also said the problem of traffic and noise complaints are potential to arise again. However, he said games will not occur every night and there is sufficient parking available on campus.
Despite these concerns, the addition of the bleachers have a positive impact on the school, community and students.
Aissea Stagner (c/o 2025) is a student athlete and plays for the football team. The team currently uses Roosevelt’s stadium to host home games. Although he will be an alumni once the project is completed, he said that the underclassmen will appreciate the addition of the bleachers and playing on their home field.
“Being able to play at home would be really good for these young kids,” Stagner said. He said that it will build a lot of morale and boost school spirit. He said the current Freshmen (c/o 2028) are very excited for this, but the Juniors (c/o 2026) are not that excited since they will not be able to play on the field. However, he said this means they will work harder in the upcoming year for their underclassmen.
“When the underclassmen get their chance to play on this field, they’re gonna be like yeah, that’s right!” Stagner said.
He said that his favorite stadium to play on was Pearl City due to the big atmosphere and environment was great for the players.
“That’s why it’s kind of hard playing at Roosevelt, because that’s not really our field, so everyone’s just thinking about other things,” Stagner said. He said having the bleachers will help with the players’ motivation to start practicing harder.
Another benefit of the bleachers that was brought out was convenience. Stagner said it will be much easier to find parking at McKinley, than to drive up the hill to Roosevelt for home games.
“Having that school spirit, all the alumni and everybody’s family, all of that together in our own school and not somebody else’s is gonna be a great thing for us,” Stagner said.
Stagner said that he and a lot of the alumni he is friends with agreed that they are going to watch the first game in the new stadium.
“If it’s class of ‘27 or class of ‘28, doesn’t matter, I’m watching that game,” Stagner said.
