Chan gets job offer to manage stadium

Scott Chan has had to make a number of decisions during his 16 days as interim Aloha Stadium manager. None has been as difficult as the one posed yesterday by the Stadium Authority board.

Does he want the job permanently?

"I want to make the right decision," said Chan after the board voted to offer the 48-year-old the position following a national search that lasted nearly two years. "They (the stadium authority board) are aware of my concerns. I'm honored by the offer.

"I wouldn't have taken this challenge (on an interim basis) if I didn't care for this facility. I took a paycut to do it and I hope that in itself shows I'm willing to work through some of the issues we're faced with, issues where we need to have stability and direction."

Chan said he had no timetable in mind for when he would make his decision known.

"I'd like to do it as soon as possible so we can all move forward," he said. "It may take a day or two, a week, a month. I want to discuss it with my immediate family and the people I work with. If they can support me with the answers I need then yes."

According to board member Kay Ahina, who chaired the applications committee, some 20 applications were received. Many had backgrounds heavy on promotions and marketing.

Yesterday's formal vote was unanimous (9-0).

"We've done a national search and the best person is already in the job," board member Kathy Inouye said.

Chan has worked at the stadium for 11 years, including deputy events manager, a civil service position. He also was interim deputy manager before being appointed interim manager following the April 9 resignation of Ken Lum.

Lum had been the interim manager of the 50,000-seat stadium in Halawa since the retirement of Eddie Hayashi on Sept. 30, 2005.

The position, appointed by the Stadium Authority, pays $81,463.

"Scott is very methodical and I'm very happy for him and the stadium," board member Marcia Klompus said. "There is a lot of work to be done over the next few months with two concerts this summer and UH football season coming up.

"It's important to have someone in there who knows what he's doing and Scott's been doing the job for us. All of us want to make it a place where people want to come."

Klompus also said she understood Chan wanting time to make the decision.

"You serve at the pleasure of the Stadium Authority," she said.

"You have to think about job security, whether a new board in a few years will keep you on."

Hayashi held the position for 12 years.

Should Chan decline the job offer, the board could revisit the current application pool or re-open the search a third time. In March 2006, the authority rejected two finalists -- including Chan -- in favor of expanding the search.

Solutions for the traffic problems -- particularly on UH football game days -- remain a high priority.

Yesterday's agenda included a report from the parking task force with a number of suggestions, ranging from moving certain sections of reserved parking to restricting on entrance solely to passes to using the flow traffic method (directed into the next available spot instead of open parking in current use).