Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s administration, the Kaua‘i County Council, Leadership Kauai and volunteers are pooling their resources to build a $1.3 million stadium at the Kapa‘a New Town Park. When completed, the football and soccer stadium will be only the third
Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s administration, the Kaua‘i County Council, Leadership Kauai and volunteers are pooling their resources to build a $1.3 million stadium at the Kapa‘a New Town Park.
When completed, the football and soccer stadium will be only the third one of its kind on Kaua‘i.
With the exception of the installation of locker rooms, the 3,000-seat stadium could be ready for use for Kapa‘a High School’s homecoming football game on Oct. 27.
The entire project is anticipated to be completed in 2007, Baptiste told reporters in his office at the Lihu‘e Civic Center on Friday.
“This is something the Kawaihau District has wanted for many years, and it is fulfilling that community desire that we are trying to do this,” Baptiste said.
When completed, Kapa‘a High School will have its own home stadium for the first time ever.
The stadium can also be used for Kauai Pop Warner football league games.
The stadium will also serve the recreational needs of the Kawaihau District, the island’s largest population district. The other two stadiums are Vidinha Stadium in Lihu‘e and Hanapepe Stadium.
Playing a key role in moving the project forward has been Na Ha Ewalu or The Breath of Eight — eight members of Leadership Kauai’s second graduating class, Baptiste said.
Leadership Kaua‘i is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help island leaders enhance their skills and to network with government, community and business entities to help solve island problems like affordable housing and traffic.
The group is led by Tim Bynum, a candidate for Kaua‘i County Council in this election year and a former community response specialist with Baptiste’s administration.
The Leadership Kauai graduates who have helped with the stadium project include John Cox, Michelle Lizama, Corey Nakamura, Char Ravelo, Matthew Taba, Soncy Tamashiro, Caroline Texeira and William Trugillo.
When the group formed last fall, Lizama came up with the idea of supporting youth sports for the group’s community projects by writing grants.
Na Ha Ewalu members subsequently decided to focus their efforts on a larger-scale project and set their sites on the Kapa‘a stadium, officials said.
Na Ha Ewalu met with Baptiste, county parks administrator Mel Nishihara and residents Larry Fernandes, Greg Gonsalves, Sherry Kunioka, Delroy Shigematsu and Gilmore Youn, all of whom have been involved with the project since the idea first surfaced in 2004.
After being informed the stadium would be a joint county and community project, Na Ha Ewalu pledged its help to see the stadium project completed.
Baptiste said the group’s help is needed.
“The work spearheaded by the Leadership Kaua‘i group is very admirable,” Baptiste said. “I’m impressed by their enthusiasm and willingness to help the community. They are truly developing fine leadership skills.”
“They have vested a lot of time and energy into the project,” he said. “It’s their place.”
In taking on the Kapa‘a stadium project members of Na Ha Ewalu divided the work, Baptiste said.
Nakamura took responsibility for landscaping the field. Lizama signed up to do the fencing. Ravelo and Cox teamed up on the locker rooms. Trugillo took charge of the bleachers and scoreboard.
Taba has opened up communications with Kauai Interscholastic Federation officials and has assisted Nishihara with a master plan for the area, and Tamashiro and Texeira have handled public relations and other tasks, Baptiste said.
For the project, the county will put up $1 million in bond funds, which was part of a $40 million bond the council approved last year for capital improvement projects.
Another $300,000 from a county trust fund will also be used for the stadium project.
The $1 million became available when the council approved its use for regional park improvements and improvements at Kapa‘a New Park.
“It has been a tremendous amount of effort and collaboration by the community to make a dream come true,” said councilwoman Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho.
All of the funds will be used to buy materials for the project, and the work will be carried out by volunteers assisted by skilled carpenters and construction workers.
The irrigation system has already been installed at the field.
The funds will be used to buy a scoreboard, bleachers, chain-link fencing, lockers and an announcer’s both.
Baptiste said he will most likely talk with the Hawaii National Guard to see if lockers at the Kapa‘a Armory can be used until the stadium lockers are installed.
Lights were installed in May 2002 in anticipation of the stadium project.
The scoreboard has been installed, the bleachers have been ordered and are expected to be installed this fall, the locker rooms are being designed and a grant has been written for the fencing, Baptiste said.
Local businesses have offered their services as well. Kyle Oshima, owner of Tropical Trim, offered his services pro bono and designed the irrigation system for the field, Baptiste said.
Using Oshima’s plan, Nakamura assembled a group of volunteers and a county crew, and they spent a day digging trenches and installing the irrigation system.
Several firms have been involved with designing the locker rooms.
Architects with Esaki Surveying & Mapping are using Hanapepe Stadium locker room plans as a model.
The plans are currently being updated and adapted for the Kapa‘a stadium by architects with Agor Design Group and De Jesus Architecture.
Bryan Aiwohi, owner of Akamai Fencing, has agreed to buy the fencing at wholesale prices and oversee the installation of the fencing.
The new stadium will be built near three existing baseball fields.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
