HONOLULU - Hawaii Pacific Athletics announced the addition of a new soccer and softball field in alignment with the University's 2014 campus master plan. 

It has been our strategic guide as we relocate and redevelop our academic and co-curricular facilities, including athletics facilities, to create a centralized urban campus with Aloha Tower Marketplace as our anchor. As you may be aware, the University considered student input in drafting the campus master plan, and students overwhelmingly shared a desire for access to Downtown Honolulu – the heart of business, government, and the judiciary in Hawai'i – while having a  strong sense of community and place.

The Howard K. Okita Field is currently located at our Hawaii Loa Campus and has been home to the historic achievements of the late Head Coach Okita, his coaching staff, and our HPU athletes. The field has a special significance in the hearts of alumni, players, coaches, and everyone who set foot on the field. As we have all known for a while, HPU will exit the Hawaii Loa campus in alignment with our campus master plan and administration has been searching tirelessly for a new location or locations for Shark facilities. HPU was presented with an extraordinary offer to develop new softball and soccer fields on Sand Island where players would be closer to practice, and students would have an even greater opportunity to attend games and cheer their fellow Sharks on. 
 
We carefully considered all aspects of this opportunity and decided that we will move forward with the transition. The HPU soccer program will have a new soccer practice field at Sand Island effective spring 2024.  Effective fall 2024, the HPU softball program will have a new softball field that can be dedicated to Coach Okita, with a plaque placed at the field to honor and remember him.
 
With this new era of HPU softball, HPU athletics will now have the opportunity to reach a greater audience for our games and have a larger field with new bleachers, new dugouts, and HPU branding opportunities throughout the season. With a new soccer practice field at Sand Island, the soccer players and program will benefit from the location and its close proximity to our downtown campus. Branding opportunities just like the HPU softball field will also be available at the HPU soccer practice field.
 
Finally, in redeveloping the land on Sand Island, it will also be helping to bring healthy activities to the space for our broader Hawai'i community.