The best public projects are ones that benefit the most people. For sports and recreation enthusiasts on Kaua’i, such undertakings don’t get much better than the Vidinha Stadium expansion. Just listen to what’s proposed: A swimming pool capable of accommodating
The best public projects are ones that benefit the most people. For sports and
recreation enthusiasts on Kaua’i, such undertakings don’t get much better than
the Vidinha Stadium expansion.
Just listen to what’s proposed: A swimming
pool capable of accommodating 1,000 spectators for competitive events. Tennis
courts. Lights for the existing baseball field at the Vidinha complex. A
5,00-seat gymnasium. A pavilion. And amenities including a 393-car parking lot
and a comfort station.
Officials and other backers of the project hope
that having an athletics facility of such scope will help Kaua’i become the
host of big-time sporting events of state, national and even international
stature. One reported possibility is Japanese professional baseball teams using
the baseball field for spring training games. Even non-sports fans can
recognize the economic benefits and prestige that the improvements of the
Vidinha complex could bring to Kaua’i.
Another plus is a study that
envisions no negative environmental impacts if the new facilities are built –
an important hurdle in obtaining permits for the project.
Yes, the project
has lots of green lights. But not the green, as in the $18.9 million
construction price tag.
So far, the Legislature has turned down requests
for state funds to do the building, although it has allocated money for
designing the pool.
Locally, money could come from a county bond issue like
the one for a new police station.
Regardless of the source, justifying
public expense for sports facilities could appear frivolous at a time when a
sizable portion of the island’s population is facing an uncertain economic
future because of the impending closure of the Amfac Sugar Kaua’i operation.
About 400 employees will lose their jobs, putting the workers and their
families under tremendous potential hardship.
Further straining the sense
of priority is the cost of maintaining the sports facilities after they’re
built. The annual operating bill for the pool alone is estimated at $84,300.
Another $55,000 a year is anticipated for the tennis courts and baseball field
lights.
The stadium-complex expansion should happen eventually. It’s that
good. But the timing and the expense involved make it necessary to keep the
project on the sideline for a while.