The Black and Gold 1976
Fond memories of the old Honolulu Stadium are recalled as a last look is taken into its past. "Termite Palace," although a firetrap and worn with age, brings back sentimental visions of crowds exhuberantly displaying hope or despair as their teams valiantly fought for victory.
Situated on King Street, the stadium was the home of many teams and sports-minor league baseball with the Hawaii Islanders (1975 Pacific Coast League Champions), collegiate football with the University of Hawaii Rainbows, local high school football teams from the Oahu Interscholastic Association and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, and the Hawaiians, which brought professional football to Hawaii with the now defunct World Football League.
Though "Termite Palace" is slated for destruction, the genuine spirit and enthusiasm it once mustered will continue. Due to its antiquity and limited capacity, a new sports arena was deemed necessary.
The appropriation bill for the new 50,000 seat stadium was signed in June of 1971 by then Governor John A. Burns. In the fall of 1970, construction was planned for completion in time to open for the 1973 Hula Bowl. But countless delays, including labor strikes and two lawsuits prohibited the stadium from opening until the fall of last year.
The complex, spanning a hundred acres in Halawa Valley, was dubbed "The Aloha Stadium" after much controversy, and dedicated to the late Governor Burns.
McKinley saw its first action at the stadium in the last game of an OIA 'quadruple header,' when they defeated Kahuku by a score of 11-7.
McKinley High School Class of 1977
40th Reunion Summer 2017
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