The state-of-the-art $19.3 million stadium was officially opened as the Edward "Skippa" Diaz Stadium at Henry Kusunoki Field in a ceremony Thursday morning. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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KALIHI — The Farrington Governors finally have a place to call home.

The brand new Edward "Skippa" Diaz Stadium at Henry Kusunoki Field was christened in a ceremony at the Kalihi campus Thursday morning.

More than 100 legislators, community members, current and former Farrington football players were joined by the student body and faculty at the event. Among those honored guests were former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Department of Education superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi and Mary Diaz, the wife of the late Skippa Diaz.

School principal Alfredo Carganilla, a 1986 Farrington graduate, welcomed those gathered, including members of the Governors' championship-winning football teams from 1966 and 1990.

"Today is a great day to be a Governor," Carganilla said. "We've been waiting a long time for this and the day has finally come."

The completed project is the end result of years of efforts by school and community leaders as well as elected officials.

Abercrombie said the initiative came about during his time in office, more specifically a morning workout where he came across longtime Farrington athletic trainer George Kamau.

"When I came and saw the terrible condition that the athletic facility was in, I made up my mind on the spot that we were going to change that, particularly because of people like Skippa and coach George Kamau, who were dedicating their lives to what Farrington meant to them," Abercrombie said.

Abercrombie, who recalled coach Diaz's famous vice-like handshake, acknowledged the difficultly in "getting things done" in politics, but appreciates that the stadium will be a centerpiece to the community for years to come.

"It's something concrete and can't be undone," Abercrombie said. "That concrete reminds of Skippa Diaz's handshake. If he shook your hand you remember because he had a grip of steel."

The state-of-the-art 3,000-seat stadium is complete with an artificial turf surface, lights for night games, a six-lane all-weather track, a press box, new locker rooms and restrooms, as well as an athletic training room, at a price of $19.3 million.

"All along the way, as we saw a need, people in the community, people in the legislature just stepped in," Matayoshi said. "This is a school with alumni pride like you wouldn't believe. It is a great moment for all who have graduated from Farrington."

Even some individuals who did not graduate from the school were key contributors to the cause. Among those gracious donors is Harold Nakamoto, who along with his wife Alice, made a $25,000 donation for the stadium's new scoreboard.

"It's because our family grew up in the Kalihi area. Actually, right behind the scoreboard was my mother's barber shop," said Harris Nakamoto, the couple's son. "For my father, during that time they only went to school up to the eighth grade, so Kalakaua (Intermediate School) and then he had to go to work already. Nonetheless, both my parents always had the heart in terms of giving back to the community with this stadium and what it meant to student-athletes."

It's a sentiment not lost upon the students. Challen Faamatau, a star running back on the football team, was appreciative of Nakamoto and all those who chipped in.

"There's a lot of guys that graduated and didn't forget about Farrington. There's still alumni that care about us, come to our games and there's a lot of Farrington alumni who gave money and did what they could to make this happen," Faamatau said. "Throughout the season we'd talk about how beautiful the field is and coach (Randall) Okimoto would always remind us how this is a privilege and it wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for our alumni, but not just alumni. There's people who graduated from other schools, people who graduated from the mainland that still cared about us students that live in a dangerous environment and just to know that we're going to have home games is a great opportunity."

Although Faamatau's eligibility will be completed by the time the Govs host Kamehameha in the first football game to be played on campus in August, he fully understands the significance of the stadium to the school and community.

"Knowing that we're going to be able to have Friday night lights like other schools have is a great feeling," Faamatau said. "It is a bum feeling to know that I won't be playing on it, but despite that feeling I know for a fact that it's going to benefit my young brothers, the underclassmen, in seasons to come."

Farrington has long played its home games at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium, which is located more than four miles away. While the new stadium was being built, the football team practiced at nearby Kalakaua Middle School, which required a daily trek by players after school.

"Now we have a safe environment for practice," Faamatau said. "A lot of people got hurt at practices at Kalakaua because of running down there and crossing streets and a lot of danger around you, but now we have a field right there at school where you can go from study hall right there to practice."

It's the same streets that Diaz maneuvered in his childhood growing up at nearby Mayor Wright Housing. He was a standout football and track star for the Govs in his prep days before going on to play football at Oregon State and then with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League. Diaz eventually returned to his alma mater, where he taught and coached the Govs to more than 100 wins on the gridiron, including the school's lone Oahu Interscholastic Association championship in 1990.

Skippa Diaz passed away on Aug. 30, 2014 after a four-year bout with gastric adenocarcinoma.

"'Bite down and carry on' was his battle cry," Mary Diaz said.

As she gazed across the new stadium that bears her late-husband's name, Diaz beamed with pride.

"For many it is indeed a dream come true, but for my husband this would have exceeded his every expectation," she said.