War Memorial Stadium (Wailuku, Hawaii)

{{For|other stadiums known as War Memorial Stadium|War Memorial Stadium (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox venue

| stadium_name = War Memorial Stadium

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| fullname = War Memorial Football Stadium

| location = Wailuku, Hawaii

| coordinates = {{Coord|20|53|33.97|N|156|29|19.68|W|type:landmark_scale:2000|display=inline}}

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| opened = 1969

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| surface = grass

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| tenants = Hula Bowl, 1998–2005

| seating_capacity = 7,000 in 1969; 23,000 at present

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}}

War Memorial Stadium is a stadium located in Wailuku, Hawaii, that opened in 1969 and holds 23,000 people. It is primarily used for American football, and from 1998 through 2005 was the venue for the Hula Bowl, a college football all-star game.{{cite magazine |last=Lee |first=Bron |url=https://www.honolulumagazine.com/sports-return-of-the-hula-bowl/ |title=Sports: Return of the Hula Bowl |magazine=Honolulu |date=January 1, 2006 |access-date=March 4, 2019}} When the stadium originally opened in 1969 it held fewer than 7,000 people. It was expanded due to the efforts of the then-mayor of Maui, Linda Lingle, to host the Hula Bowl.{{cite news |last=Kubota |first=Gary T. |url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/09/04/news/story3.html |title=Hula Bowl revenues far short of goal |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=September 4, 1998 |access-date=March 4, 2019 |id={{ProQuest|412239540}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044101/http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/09/04/news/story3.html |archive-date=March 6, 2019}}

War Memorial Stadium is also home to the Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) High School Football association{{cite news |last=Collias |first=Robert |url=https://www.mauinews.com/sports/local-sports/2018/06/mil-football-set-to-face-teams-from-alaska-arizona/ |title=MIL football set to face teams from Alaska, Arizona |work=The Maui News |date=June 11, 2018 |access-date=March 4, 2019}} and soccer matches are played in the stadium.

War Memorial Stadium is also equipped with a state of the art 440 yard track, long jump, triple jump, high jump, and pole vaulting pits. In 1972, the stadium was the site of the first State High School Track and Field Championships held outside of Honolulu, chosen in part because of the new state of the art rubberized asphalt surface.

The football field has a grass surface. Plans to replace the grass with artificial turf were abandoned in 2014 when bids came in 50% above the expected $1 million.{{cite news |title=Maui scraps turf plan for War Memorial Stadium |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/25881261/maui-scraps-turf-plan-for-war-memorial-stadium/ |access-date=March 25, 2019 |work=Hawaii News Now |agency=Associated Press |date=June 26, 2014}}

The only regular-season college football game to take place on Maui occurred on September 8, 2001, when the University of Hawaii Warriors defeated the visiting Montana Grizzlies 30–12 in front of a crowd of 12,863.{{cite web |title=Warriors Win Season Opener on Maui |url=https://hawaiiathletics.com/news/2001/9/8/FB_173718.aspx |website=Hawaii Athletics |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi |access-date=December 18, 2020 |date=September 8, 2001}}