Although there aren't any major league sports teams in Hawaii, there are college teams and a handful of professional exposition games played in Hawaii, many of them immensely popular among the local residents. Check the schedule at the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, located near Pearl Harbor, 99-500 Salt Lake Blvd. (tel. 808/486-93003), where high school and University of Hawaii football games are also held from September to November (tel. 808/944-BOWS; www.uhathletics.hawaii.edu). There are usually express buses that take you to the stadium on game nights; they depart from Ala Moana Shopping Center (TheBus no. 47-50 and 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. 808/521-2911; www.blaisdellcenter.com/calendar/index.cfm), 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.
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 at tel. 808/944-BOWS; www.uhathletics.hawaii.edu. Collegiate volleyball, which is extremely popular in Hawaii, takes place at the Stan Sheriff Center, also on the UH campus, 1355 Lower Campus Rd., from November through May. Information at same phone number and website above.
With Hawaii's cowboy history, polo is a popular sport, played every Sunday from March through August in Mokuleia or Waimanalo. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the game. Call tel. 808/637-7656 for details on times and admission charges.
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.
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. 808/841-3724), on Friday and Saturday nights. No bus service.
Some of the other spectator sports scheduled during the year, such as the NFL Pro Bowl, the Rainbow Classic, and major golf and surfing tournaments, are listed in the "Oahu Calendar of Events"
