HONOLULU (AP) -The Pro Bowl’s future in Hawaii will be decided Friday in one last vote that could reunite the NFL’s all-star game with the state, or end the decades-long relationship in an ugly divorce.
It is the third time the Hawaii Tourism Authority board is voting on the NFL’s offer to return to the islands. The board rejected two previous proposals, but under mounting pressure, will reconsider its latest refusal to have the all-star game played at Aloha Stadium in 2011 and ’12 for $4 million a year.
“We’ll see tomorrow, but I’m hopeful we will have the seven requisite votes,” board chairman Kelvin Bloom said Thursday.
Earlier this week, Bloom virtually assured state lawmakers that the all-star game would return, saying, “The odds are in our favor,” with just one vote shy of gaining approval.
However, there’s still some uncertainty and confusion.
The NFL actually needs a minimum three board members to switch their “no” votes from last week. The 10-member board voted 6-4 against the proposal, three “yes” votes shy of the required seven.
six board members in were favor, four opposed. Bloom added to the confusion telling lawmakers the board was just one vote shy.
On Thursday, he explained the discrepancy.
“Post-meeting, there’s a sense there was at least six solid supporters of accepting the original offer by the NFL. That was the sense,” Bloom said. “That’s where I was calibrating that we’re actually one shy of getting the necessary votes.”
Last week’s rejection was sharply criticized by Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. With its patience wearing, the NFL has turned down the state’s offer to renegotiate another deal.
It now seems tourism-dependent Hawaii needs the Pro Bowl as much, or more, than the NFL needs Hawaii. Last month’s Pro Bowl generated $28.6 million in spending and $2.9 million in taxes. And other cities have expressed interest in hosting the game, Bloom said.
“The fact of the matter is that we can’t afford to lose this game,” Hannemann said.
Last week, the board expressed concerns that attendance and viewership could drop because of the NFL’s experiment to move its annual all-star game to a week before the Super Bowl. It also was hesitant about devoting $4 million to host each game while the state’s budget and marketing dollars are rapidly shrinking.
otes. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell even asked Hannemann to step in.
The Pro Bowl will be played in Miami in 2010 after a 30-year run in Hawaii where every year was a sellout. The following Super Bowls will be played in Dallas and Indianapolis.
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