Although there aren't any major league sports teams in Hawaii, there are college teams and a handful of professional exposition games -- many of them are immensely popular among the local residents. Check the schedule at the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, near Pearl Harbor, 99-500 Salt Lake Blvd. (tel. 808/486-9555), where high school and University of Hawaii Warriors (tel. 808/944-BOWS) football games are also held from September to December. Express buses often run to the stadium on game nights; they depart from Ala Moana Shopping Center (TheBus no. 47-50 or 52), or from Monsarrat Avenue near Kapiolani Park (TheBus no. 20). Call TheBus at tel. 808/848-5555 for times and fares. The Neal Blaisdell Center, at Kapiolani Boulevard and Ward Avenue (tel. 808/591-2211 or 808/527-5400), features a variety of sporting events, such as professional boxing and Japanese sumo wrestling. In December, the Annual Rainbow Classic, a collegiate basketball invitational tournament, takes place at the Blaisdell. For bus information, call TheBus at tel. 808/848-5555 or visit them online. At the University of Hawaii, the Rainbow Stadium, 1337 Lower Campus Rd, and the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, next door, are hosts to college baseball and softball from January through May. Information is available at tel. 808/944-BOWS or online. Collegiate volleyball, which is extremely popular in Hawaii, takes place at the Stan Sheriff Center, also on the UH campus, 1355 Lower Campus Rd., November through May. Information is available at the UH phone number and website listed above. It's not the World Series, but in the winter (Oct 1-Nov 22) Hawaii Winter Baseball (tel. 808/973-7247), with four teams from Oahu (Waikiki Beach Boys, West Oahu CaneFires, North Shore Honu, and Honolulu Sharks) plays 40 games against other minor league teams from the U.S. mainland and Japan at either the Les Murakami Stadium, in Manoa, or at the Hans L'Orange Field, in Waipahu. Tickets range from $4 to $6. With Hawaii's cowboy history, polo is a popular sport, played every Sunday May through September in Mokuleia or Waimanalo. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the game. Call tel. 808/637-8401 or visit the Hawaii Polo website for schedule and admission information. A sport you might not be familiar with is Hawaiian outrigger canoe racing, which is very big locally. Every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day, canoe races are held around Oahu. The races are free and draw huge crowds. Check the local papers for information on race schedules or contact the Oahu Hawaii Canoe Racing Association. Motor-racing fans can enjoy their sport at Hawaii Raceway Park, 91-201 Malakole, in Campbell Industrial Park, in Ewa Beach next to the Barbers Point Naval Air Station (tel. 808/841-DRAG), on Friday and Saturday nights. No bus service accesses the park. |
