NFL moving Pro Bowl to Miami for 2010 all-star game
Advertiser Staff
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State officials are optimistic that the Pro Bowl, which will be played in Miami in 2010, will return to Hawai'i in 2011 as part of a new contract agreement.
Asked about the chances of the National Football League all-star game coming back to Hawai'i, where it has been successful since 1980, a high-ranking Hawai'i Tourism Authority official said, "Very positive."
"(The NFL is) very happy with Hawai'i," said Lloyd Unebasami, HTA's interim president and chief executive officer. "Hopefully, we're close to accepting some terms and conditions" on a new contract.
In a statement circulated to the media, Gov. Linda Lingle said: "I am optimistic that the Pro Bowl will return to Hawai'i in 2011. I, along with the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, will continue to maintain open and ongoing dialogue with the NFL. The state of Hawai'i and the NFL have had a successful and collaborative 28-year relationship, and I am confident that this partnership will continue in the long run."
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who was instrumental in helping to keep the game here in previous years, said he spoke with NFL officials and was told, "The NFL wants to come back," though probably not on a permanent basis.
Hannemann said moving the 2010 game — where it will be played in the open weekend between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl in Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium — was not unexpected.
Hannemann said the NFL has made it known that "they're open to coming back in a rotational basis." Hannemann has suggested NFL exhibition games be held in Hawai'i during the years in which the Pro Bowl is not here.
The current four-year deal, which expires after the Feb. 8, 2009, game, gave the NFL a one-year option of playing elsewhere in 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009. If the game were moved in any of those years, it would automatically be played in Honolulu in 2010.
"That contract guaranteed us four games," Unebasami said. "When they didn't take one of the games, we knew they would take 2010."
For the past year, Unebasami said, the NFL and the state have been in discussions on a new contract.
"The NFL has been a good corporate sponsor with us," Unebasami said. "They created a lot of excitement for Hawai'i. We want them to be proud sponsors of ours in the future. Our team is working to make that happen."
Under the current contract, the NFL receives a $4.5 million annual subsidy from HTA.
In return, Unebasami said, the game attracts "about 25,000" off-shore visitors, of which "approximately 20,000 come specifically for the Pro Bowl."
He said the visitors spend about $28 million.
Of that amount, about $2.5 million goes back to the state in excise, hotel and car-rental taxes.
In addition, NFL Charities donates $100,000 annually to local youth programs.
GIVING BACK
Keith Amemiya, who helps coordinate Pro Bowl-sponsored activities, said the game:
"It would be a great loss to not have these annual programs that have helped thousands of youths across the state each year," Amemiya said.
Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts said relocating the game "is upsetting."
"For somebody who played in the first five in Honolulu, it was always special for me and my teammates," Fouts told The Advertiser by phone. "I just think that with the support we got in Honolulu, it was always top notch. The friendships that were made were incredible. I got to meet some great people. I hope it does move back."
Greg McMackin, who completed his first year as University of Hawai'i head football coach, said the game was used as a recruiting tool. Although the Warriors are not allowed to take recruits to the game, McMackin said, they could tour the empty Aloha Stadium.
"The Pro Bowl gave credibility to the stadium," McMackin said. "This (news) is too bad."
McMackin, who has coached in the NFL, said Honolulu is the best place for the game.
"It's a neutral site," McMackin said. "There are no NFL teams in Hawai'i. In Miami, you have the Dolphins. I've lived in Miami, and Hawai'i is better. No comparison — with the weather and the people."
MOVING AROUND
Before coming to Hawai'i, the Pro Bowl bounced around from city to city. It was played in Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, Louisiana, Seattle and Miami — places that already had NFL franchises. In fact, the only other time the Pro Bowl was held in Miami (1975), it drew the lowest attendance, 26,484.
But in 1980, the NFL decided to move the game to Hawai'i, a site with a strong NFL following but no NFL franchise.
The game was an instant success, and has been throughout the years. The game was a sellout every year at the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
"I think it's really disappointing because the Pro Bowl is always a fun thing," said Finn Curran, a Kaiser High senior who won a sportswriter-for-a-day contest with the Pro Bowl in 2006. "It's more than just a game. There were stuff for the community, stuff for players, families; a lot of things to enjoy that the NFL had to offer."
The plan to have the game played between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl is not new. The NFL has discussed it multiple times in recent years, and commissioner Roger Goodell told The Associated Press last month that having the game precede the Super Bowl would avoid a "somewhat anticlimactic" ending to the season.
"Anticlimactic for everybody but Hawai'i," Hannemann said.
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