As the 30th anniversary of Aloha Stadium is celebrated this week, growing concerns about the aging facility have prompted lawmakers to fund a $300,000 study about the stadium's structural integrity and lifespan, a key state official said.

The study, by Wiss, Janney, Elstner and Associates Inc., will also estimate the costs of refurbishing the facility, state Comptroller Russ Saito said.

The study will be presented at the upcoming Legislature, Saito said. A preliminary report will be provided to the state Department of Accounting and General Services in October, he said. "My expectation is the stadium is in good shape, but periodically any structure needs to be refurbished," Saito said.

Aloha Stadium is the largest and most versatile multi-purpose facility of its kind in Hawai'i. Located on 104 acres in Halawa, the 50,000-seat facility opened Sept. 12, 1975 — its first game was the next day — and is home to the University of Hawai'i football team. The facility hosts an array of events, including the NFL's Pro Bowl, concerts, graduations, car shows, fairs and the swap meet, a popular shopping site for residents and tourists.

It costs between $6 million to $7 million annually to operate and maintain Aloha Stadium, Saito said. The costs pay for such expenses as the mechanical operation of the stadium, ushers, stadium landscaping, cleaning, and the concessions.

A study done on Aloha Stadium in 1995 estimated the lifespan of the facility at 20 additional years — or until 2015 — before costly whole renovations will be needed, stadium manager Eddie Hayashi said.

The study provided a "safe estimate" of Aloha Stadium's lifespan, and the facility could last much longer with structural modifications or reinforcements, Saito said.

Kevin Chong Kee, the Aloha Stadium Authority chairman, said he expected "pretty good" results from the Aloha Stadium study. He also believed the stadium will remain viable longer than the original 2015 estimate if the facility is repaired properly.

"I think the life expectancy of the stadium is a lot better than what everybody thought it is," Chong Kee said. "We're waiting for the report. I haven't seen it, but what I've heard is, the stadium is in not that bad of a shape."

As a general rule, the planning and construction of a new stadium would likely take approximately 10 years, Saito said. Aloha Stadium took 16 years from the formation of a committee in 1959, to groundbreaking in 1971, to seeing its first game in 1975.

Seven of the 12 stadiums that opened about the same time as Aloha Stadium 30 years ago have closed or need repairs. (See list below.)

Gov. Linda Lingle said it was premature to have an opinion on whether a new stadium is needed before the consultant's report is completed.

In recent years, several high-profile officials flirted with the idea of building a new stadium.

In 2001, former UH President Evan Dobelle proposed building a 60,000-seat stadium on the planned West O'ahu campus. Dobelle said UH could pay for construction by selling 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium; selling luxury skyboxes and naming rights to the new stadium; issuing revenue bonds; and getting Mainland TV contracts.

Former Gov. Ben Cayetano also had visions of a new stadium in West O'ahu. He told UH the most economical option may be to sell Aloha Stadium's land to developers, sell the existing stadium for scrap, and use the money to build a facility on vacant land that is part of the planned West O'ahu campus.

According to an Advertiser report in 2001, a 60,000-seat stadium in Hawai'i would cost in the $200-million to $300-million range, depending upon amenities, shipping and transportation costs, and when it is built. The report quoted Scott Radecic, a 1983 All-America linebacker at Penn State, who now designs stadiums for Kansas City-based HOK sports, an international sports architectural firm.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.