As he stood outside the gates of Kapolei High School at a recent practice, camera at the ready for any NFL star that might approach, Ewa Beach resident Sia Tufele contemplated the possibility — the likelihood — that the Pro Bowl is not long for Hawai'i.

"It's important to the fans over here," Tufele said. "It's the only professional game in town, and there's no place better than Hawai'i for that game."

Like Tufele, 19-year-old Jarrin Lessary of Kane'ohe isn't thrilled about losing the one chance a year he gets to see the giants (and the Giants) of the game.

"A lot of players like to come here," he said. "I think it should stay."

Across the barricade, somewhere amid the TV cameras and autograph seekers, Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook was thinking the same thing.

"Moving the game is a bad idea, man," said Westbrook, a two-time Pro Bowl selection. "It's good for the fans here and the players look forward to coming. The only place I want it is here."

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens seconded the notion.

"The commissioner is making a lot of decisions but I don't know about moving the game," Owens said. "I love Hawai'i and I want to keep coming."

And yet it is becoming increasingly likely that the NFL, which receives an annual subsidy of $4.5 million from the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, will explore other venues for the game when the current contract expires next year.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed interest in moving the Pro Bowl to the same site as the Super Bowl, where it would be played in the empty weekend between the conference championships and the big game.

EVERY YEAR SINCE 1980

Hawai'i has hosted the Pro Bowl annual all-star game continuously since 1980. In that time, the game — which has been a sellout every year in the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium — has grown into a significant economic asset for the state.

Last year, direct spending for the game dipped 16 percent from the previous year yet still totaled more than $28 million.

The annual migration of big-name football stars has also been a boon to local charities and social service agencies, which benefit from player appearances and the NFL's numerous community outreach programs.

On Thursday, the NFL and local Boys & Girls Club leaders broke ground in Nanakuli for a Hawaii NFL Youth Education Town, an after-school facility.

A few years ago, the NFL agreed to provide a matching fund of up to $200,000, under its NFL Grassroots Program, to refurbish Roosevelt High's stadium.

The HTA's vice president of marketing, David Uchiyama, said that while the state hopes to negotiate a new contract with the NFL to keep the game in Hawai'i, losing the game may not be as disastrous as some predict, since the game is played during an already busy tourist season.

"If it were positioned in a slower period like April or May, the impact could be pretty substantial," Uchiyama said. "But since it's played in the first quarter of the year we have to ask how many more tourists come just to see the game."

Uchiyama said the potential loss of the game could also be offset by other high-profile sporting events with significant economic potential.

"At the time the Pro Bowl signed on, the major sports were football, basketball and baseball," he said. "That's diversified considerably now when you look at it from a marketing standpoint."

Case in point: Uchiyama said the Pan Pacific Soccer Championships, scheduled for later this month, have the potential to attract a more diverse crowd of international tourists and allow Hawai'i to increase its profile in desirable markets like China and Korea.

EVERY OTHER YEAR?

However, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, an outspoken supporter of keeping the Pro Bowl in Hawai'i, said the HTA is underestimating the importance of the game and the exposure it brings to Hawai'i.

"To say that losing (the Pro Bowl) isn't that big a deal is shortsighted," Hannemann said.

Hannemann said that a workable compromise would be to have the game alternate between Hawai'i and other sites every other year.

He said that scheduling a preseason NFL game in Hawai'i during off-years would help perpetuate the mutually beneficial relationship between the state and the NFL.

According to Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jeff Garcia, a four-time Pro Bowler, moving the game wouldn't be a popular decision among players.

"Coming to Hawai'i is something to play for," Garcia said. "Players like to come here because it's like a reward to get away and experience something new. A lot of players, especially those who grew up in the East Coast, have never seen anything like this place and once they get here, they love it.

"I think it would be hard to get players interested in playing if the game were held somewhere on the Mainland," Garcia said. "The game draws a lot of local interest here and as players we look forward to coming. Why would you change that?"

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.