MAUI INVITATIONAL TICKETS

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Sounds like much of downtown Lahaina burned down from a wildfire.  With the gym being up the mountain a bit, I'd be shocked if it sustained no damage, if its still there.

Just terrible.  I've been going there since I was a kid. So many memories.  Just awful news.

[MuggsyB]

Sounds like much of downtown Lahaina burned down from a wildfire.  With the gym being up the mountain a bit, I'd be shocked if it sustained no damage, if its still there.

Just terrible.  I've been going there since I was a kid. So many memories.  Just awful news.

Awful situation.  There's no way the hospital or two in Maui can handle these burn victims.  Horrible and they still have no power. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

So last year Ft. Myers gets decimated by a hurricane and this year Lahaina burns down? We bring some awful luck wherever we're assigned for Thanksgiving

[Pakuni]

Sounds like much of downtown Lahaina burned down from a wildfire.  With the gym being up the mountain a bit, I'd be shocked if it sustained no damage, if its still there.

Just terrible.  I've been going there since I was a kid. So many memories.  Just awful news.

I had lunch in Lahaina on Friday. Awful to see this.

[Hallmarq]

Hopefully they can get this under control, and everyone is safe. The civic center is a couple of miles north of Front St, and don't recall there being much combustible around it, but with 80mph winds anything is possible. IIRC correctly, the civic center is next to a fire station, which doesnt really matter given how stretched firefighters are, but I think that area in general will be well protected. Mother nature may have other plans though.

Will be interesting to see what everything looks like in November. Assuming everything is sorted out by then, one thing I'm sure of, for those of us going, starting making dinner reservations now. Seems crass to even say given what's going on there, but with everything on Front St likely gone, the restaurant availability is going to be crazy.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Hopefully they can get this under control, and everyone is safe. The civic center is a couple of miles north of Front St, and don't recall there being much combustible around it, but with 80mph winds anything is possible. IIRC correctly, the civic center is next to a fire station, which doesnt really matter given how stretched firefighters are, but I think that area in general will be well protected. Mother nature may have other plans though.

Will be interesting to see what everything looks like in November. Assuming everything is sorted out by then, one thing I'm sure of, for those of us going, starting making dinner reservations now. Seems crass to even say given what's going on there, but with everything on Front St likely gone, the restaurant availability is going to be crazy.

Hyatt is in evacuation zone. Fire is impacting Kaanapali too. Front Street is gowne.

Tragic.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvuKvt7NNSk/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[Jay Bee]

Where does this tourney get moved to?

[lawdog77]

So last year Ft. Myers gets decimated by a hurricane and this year Lahaina burns down? We bring some awful luck wherever we're assigned for Thanksgiving

Mother Nature hates Marquette

[real chili 83]

Where does this tourney get moved to?

Canada

[Hallmarq]

Still no word on the civic center, but news release from the invitational was released. As it's just after 730a local time, suspect we will know more in the next few hours, but seems like total devastation.

https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/maui-invitational-is-praying-for-hawaii-during-terrifying-fires

[Dr. Blackheart]

Canada

The return of the Great Alaska Shootout?

[GoldenEagles03]

https://twitter.com/BraxBanksOKWX/status/1689340763128123393?t=neik0lKiKA83wFX8nE0Obw&s=19

[Miss Katie’s]

Absolutely heartbreaking.

[Tha Hound]

It does not look good for the Lahaina civic center

[Benny B]

https://twitter.com/BraxBanksOKWX/status/1689340763128123393?t=neik0lKiKA83wFX8nE0Obw&s=19

At 2:10 in the video, the Lahaina Civic Center briefly comes into view in the lower left of the screen; the pilot then turns right and flies over it, so it's difficult to tell the extent of any damage there, but it - and the courthouse to the left of it - at least look to be intact.  But even if the LCC is operable, there's no way they're holding the tournament in Maui in 100 days.  Lahaina has been leveled and infrastructure destroyed.

"But Benny, they could just bring in temporary services/infrastructure."

You should be slapped, and quit whining.  It's not just the fact that thousands of residents - more specifically, WEST MAUI's WORKFORCE - have been displaced, MOST of the residents have been displaced indefinitely.  Remember that almost 45% of New Orleans' population (proper, not metro) was able to return after Katrina... corruption aside, they still struggled to rebuild.  Just a guess, but I'd be willing to bet more than 75%, if not closer to 90% of Lahaina's population isn't returning anytime soon... not to mention, unlike a hurricane, there's no hope of letting things dry out (and salvaging what you can) after a fire.

[Miss Katie’s]

Where does this tourney get moved to?

Two years ago it was in Vegas. 

[MU82]

Was just there a couple years ago. So sad. In this particular situation, a hurricane several hundred miles south of the islands whipped up strong winds that contributed to the problem. The photos and videos are devastating.

Maui has been experiencing drought conditions, exacerbated by global warming. Even paradise isn't immune.

[Pakuni]

At 2:10 in the video, the Lahaina Civic Center briefly comes into view in the lower left of the screen; the pilot then turns right and flies over it, so it's difficult to tell the extent of any damage there, but it - and the courthouse to the left of it - at least look to be intact.  But even if the LCC is operable, there's no way they're holding the tournament in Maui in 100 days.  Lahaina has been leveled and infrastructure destroyed.

"But Benny, they could just bring in temporary services/infrastructure."

You should be slapped, and quit whining.  It's not just the fact that thousands of residents - more specifically, WEST MAUI's WORKFORCE - have been displaced, MOST of the residents have been displaced indefinitely.  Remember that almost 45% of New Orleans' population (proper, not metro) was able to return after Katrina... corruption aside, they still struggled to rebuild.  Just a guess, but I'd be willing to bet more than 75%, if not closer to 90% of Lahaina's population isn't returning anytime soon... not to mention, unlike a hurricane, there's no hope of letting things dry out (and salvaging what you can) after a fire.

You may be right, but much of Lahaina's workforce doesn't actually live in Lahaina. It's a very expensive place to live - the median rent of a one-bedroom apartment is $2,750; median cost of a home is $990K - and is out of the range of most service-industry workers. Most live more inland/upcountry, which appears so far much less affected by the fires.
And while Lahaina is a tourist destination, it's not a place where many tourists stay. And by all accounts, those places - Kaanapali, Kapalua, Kahana, Napili, Wailea, Kihei, etc. - seem to have avoided the worst of this so far. So I don't expect there will be a lack of places for tournament attendees to stay.
I think a bigger issue is whether people leave the island for employment elsewhere, because (as you note), those jobs in Lahaina aren't returning anytime soon. But
maybe a pandemic-style unemployment program keeps people around while they rebuild.

I'm not sure the Katrina analogy is a good one. The reality is many of those people didn't return to New Orleans because they had nothing to return to. There were no jobs, homes weren't going to be rebuilt in flood zones, the 9th Ward, etc. I doubt that's the case on Maui. The tourists aren't going to stop coming, so there's incentive to rebuild Lahaina. And, as we've established, much if not most of the workforce lives outside the town, and haven't lost their homes.

I really do believe they will do their best to make the tournament happen, seeing it as a much-needed shot in the arm. It may be that they ultimately decide it can't be done, but I don't think it'll be because of the lack of a workforce or places for people to stay. I suspect it would have more to do with the infrastructure in and around the civic center.

[Jay Bee]

And while Lahaina is a tourist destination, it's not a place where many tourists stay. And by all accounts, those places - Kaanapali, Kapalua, Kahana, Napili, Wailea, Kihei, etc. - seem to have avoided the worst of this so far. So I don't expect there will be a lack of places for tournament attendees to stay.

I really do believe they will do their best to make the tournament happen, seeing it as a much-needed shot in the arm. It may be that they ultimately decide it can't be done, but I don't think it'll be because of the lack of a workforce or places for people to stay.

Wat
<disagrees>

[Dr. Blackheart]

Two years ago it was in Vegas.

Short notice COVID was Asheville

[Not A Serious Person]

Much Of Historic Lahaina Town Believed Destroyed By Overwhelming Fire
https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/08/much-of-historic-lahaina-town-believed-destroyed-by-overwhelming-fire/

[DarkWarrior]

As much as I have been looking forward to my trip to Maui for the tournament, right now it seems more like time to take a pause and say a prayer for those that are losing their homes and in some cases their lives.

I am sure the tournament will find a home in Maui or somewhere. Far too big of an event opportunity at this point to be simply be terminated. I will do my best to follow it to wherever it goes!

[Dr. Blackheart]

Wat
<disagrees>

Times 10 billion

#pakoncrak

[MU82]

At least 36 dead now, and much of Lahaina burned to the ground. But officials are now saying fire has been "contained."

[SaveOD238]

If they can't hold the tournament at the Lahaina Civic Center, is there anywhere else on the island that makes sense? Or elsewhere in Hawaii?