HONOLULU (KHON2) -- It's official. A new stadium is set to be built as a development team was selected to transform the stadium district. Much more work has yet to be done, but this is a milestone start on this long-awaited project. Get Hawaii's latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The state Department of Accounting and General Services and the Stadium Authority announced the approval of Aloha Halawa District Partners (AHDP) as the preferred proposal for the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (NASED). The project is an ambitious, 98-acre multi-use community, combining sports, entertainment, residential and commercial space. At the heart of the project is a 25,000 seat stadium. "I would say, obviously I'm excited and thrilled and relieved to at least know that we're at this point," said Ryan Andrews, Stadium Manager. "But I'm also cognizant of the work that's ahead of us.  So we gotta roll up our sleeves and dig in." AHDP was the sole development team to bid on the project after a rival group dropped out in June. The consortium is comprised of: Development Ventures Group, Inc., Stanford Carr Development, LLC, Ameresco,Inc., and Aloha Stadium Community Development, LLC (The Cordish Company)as the lead equity members; RMA Architects, Populous, SB Architects, Henning Larsen, Alakea DesignGroup, and WCIT Architects as the design team; Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, Inc. and AECOM Hunt as theconstruction team; and Castle & Cooke Hawai‘i and Wilson Okamoto Corporation as other teammembers. HFD adds new helicopter to combat wildfires The next step is an eight month "diligence and discussion" phase with the AHDP on technical matters. "Basically, some of the other matters that need to be taken care of are site condition surveys, whether it's geotechnical, archeological, and hazardous materials detection and removal, establishing the processes for timely permitting and other development authorizations, finalizing the UH license agreement for the new stadium, finalizing works of art strategy, developing a range of project management plans including construction management and stakeholder and community engagement plans, as well as finalizing the finance plan and finance commitments," said Chris Sadayasu, Stadium Deputy Manager. "It also gives us an opportunity to go to the legislature and county council, as well as the mayor's office, together with the developer, with our development plans, and to finalize those as we move forward. It also gives us time to really get to the details before we enter into this development agreement." "This is a very complicated project. It's not just a stadium. It's an entire neighborhood. It's almost like a little, it's a new community.There's gonna be housing. There's gonna be retail.There's gonna be office space. There's gonna be hotels. There's gonna be community spaces and parks. So there's a lot to work through," said Andrews. The project timeline is still on track with a final agreement expected for the summer of 2025 and a new stadium in place to open the UH football season in 2028. "I think it's great that we have been kind of stuck in the mud, and now the road ahead is going to be paved," said State Senator Glenn Wakai, who represents the district and has been a strong supporter of the project from the start. "We're not at the destination yet, but it's going to be a lot smoother of a ride towards next summer when we get a specific offer and a contract signed with Stanford Car and his group." Wakai said his community is excited to see this project move forward, one that he said will create a walkable, lively district and encourage economic growth. "The Arizona Memorial has 1.8 million visitors that go there and have absolutely nothing to do after they see the monuments. Step across the street, spend money, be entertained, dine. Our customer base is right there. So I think it has all the makings of a total winner for the community, as well as for the visitor, as well as for the businesses," said Wakai. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The actual renderings and details of what the new stadium and the surrounding area will look like is part of that diligence and discussion phase. But stadium authority officials hope to have something for the public to see around the end of December.