WAIPIO, Hawaii (KHON2) — City officials announced that the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex will be fully closed for the next eight weeks on Wednesday, May 1.
Officials discovered the grass quality declined after they allowed limited field usage in preparation for tournaments in summer since February, 2024.
The Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation said the full closure decision was made in collaboration with local soccer leagues to prepare the fields for large tournaments that start in June. Only certain fields were open on weekends since February.
“But what’s happened is the usage on the weekends and through the other times was kind of reducing the gains that we were getting from those improvements,” DPR spokesman Nate Serota said. “And so this is kind of giving them that natural rest that they need in order to really be of higher caliber.”
KHON2 heard from longtime park users that the fact that the fields have been allowed to deteriorate so much is unacceptable.
“These were golf course-type putting green grass and to see it like this right now, it’s really sad,” said Hawaii Youth Soccer Association executive director Scott Keopuhiwa. “This is probably the worst it’s ever been that the complex has been open.”