University of Hawaii: T.C. Ching Stadium Pt. 1
Recently a topic of conversation at work is the Hawaii Football program announcing its plans to move to its Manoa campus for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons. Personally, as a 2013 alumni, and a person blessed with season tickets from birth (my family had tickets from the old Termite Palace days), UH Football has a special place in my heart.
Just to indulge on some memories,
Some of my favorite players are:
– PK – Jason Elam (of the infamous ‘92 Holiday Bowl team)
– QB – Michael Carter (also of the ‘92 Holiday Bowl team)
– QB – Timmy Chang (Local boy who was the architype of Jone’s QB)
– Former Heisman Finalist QB – Colt Brennan (of the ‘08 Sugar Bowl team)
I’ve sat through the ‘98 0-12 Fred von Appen season, but also got to see the likes of Bob Wagner, June Jones, and the surprising success of Nick Rolovich.
Some of my favorite moments had to be:
– Snapping a program-historic 19-game losing streak agains Eastern Illinois in 1999
– Storming the field in 2007 after beating Boise St. for the WAC Championship, then again after beating Washington to cap off the 12-0 season
– Losing to Alabama in 2002 to then beat them a year later at Aloha stadium
– My favorite game to watch was with our son in the 2019 Hawaii Bowl with a thrilling win over BYU.
All this being said, there is quite a history of Hawaii Football and it looks like their time at the current Aloha Stadium is coming to an end. While a new stadium is in the works (and maybe a new post later) I figure I would take a shot at what I think would work at UH’s campus’ option: TC Ching Field.
General Observations and Program
TC Ching field is located in lower campus (athletics facilities) on the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It has a capacity of 4,100 with minimal accommodations for ticketing and locker rooms. It is also relatively close to student housing and has a multi-story parking structure. Vehicular access can be a bit difficult as it doesn’t have too many lanes in and out, but it is located directly adjacent to the H-1 Freeway.
General Issues To Address:
1) Conceptual improvements to existing TC Ching Complex for NCAA Division 1 Football readiness
2) Separate Vehicular and Pedestrian traffic as much as possible on site (omitting access issues from off-site)
3) Provide students a more “game day” experience to encourage attendance
Approach:
For the sake of this exercise:
1) I’ll first look at a general site plan
2) Look at conceptual designs for the stadium
3) Address circulation interventions
Go ‘Bows
-Duane