There’s a lot of out with the old and in with the new at Farrington.
While being interviewed by Hawaii Prep World last Tuesday, Governors football coach Randall Okimoto was standing near the school’s rundown weight room, which sits under the bleachers of the school’s pool. A pickup truck was about 30 feet away, loaded with trash that came from a retired physical education teacher’s office. Students’ health notebooks from previous years, a broken down bookcase, one old Nike sneaker, two shopping carts and an Oahu telephone book were just a few of the items waiting to be hauled away.
But down the aisle between buildings, the engines from the excavators on Farrington’s football field could easily be heard. They workmen are redoing the field and the whole football facility.
It’s been a long, long time (when is something to look up and add to this story in the near future) since a varsity football game has been played at Farrington. The field for the the most part has been used for practice, with home games played at Roosevelt’s Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.
But in 2016, Farrington fans will get their wish. Home games are slated for the campus in Kalihi.
Okimoto said $15.1 million is going into the project that will give the team a Fieldturf surface, lights, 5,000 seats, locker rooms, a concession stand and an equipment and training facility.
Eventually, Okimoto said, the hope is to add bleachers for the opposing team’s side of the field.
“I love the fact that our school will be able to host games,” the coach said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be. I wish all schools could host their own home games.”
McKinley, which also plays its home games at Roosevelt, is getting a new football field, but there is no funding yet to make it ready to host games. That funding is a possibility in the future, according to Tigers athletic director Bob Morikuni.
Kalani is another school that doesn’t have a home field. The Falcons play their home games at nearby Kaiser High.
Okimoto said he’s also thrilled that the Governors’ home games will be mostly on Fridays starting next season instead of the usual Saturday slot at Roosevelt.
“We have five games on Saturday this year,” he said. “That’s the day UH plays and I know our players want to see those games.”
This year, because of the work being done on the field, Farrington is practicing a little more than a mile from campus at the Kalakaua Intermediate School field.
Farrington’s football facility, which broke ground in February, is scheduled for a June 2016 completion date, according to Okimoto.
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