Turf installation delay won't affect Pro Bowl future
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
The NFL yesterday said the delay in installing a new playing surface in time for the 2003 Pro Bowl will not jeopardize Hawai'i's 24-year relationship with the league and the game.
Concerns over rushed construction, an unfinished contract and the unpredictability of weather prompted the NFL and Gov. Linda Lingle on Wednesday to delay the installation until after the Pro Bowl, which has been held at Aloha Stadium for the past 24 years.
Aloha Stadium's AstroTurf will be replaced with FieldTurf, an artificial grass product that uses layers of sand and rubber infill.
The original installation was scheduled between the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 25 and the Pro Bowl on Feb. 2. The new schedule for installation and completion is between April 1 and May 23. Prior stadium events will prevent the turf from being installed sooner.
The turf replacement has been a key issue on keeping the Pro Bowl in Hawai'i. The replacement turf also has been the focus of more than six months of talks between the NFL and the state, and was part of a contract in 2000 between the Hawai'i Tourism Authority and the Pro Bowl. The NFL prefers natural grass or FieldTurf because its players have complained about injuries suffered on AstroTurf. University of Hawai'i coach June Jones also has advocated a new playing surface.
"The 24-year partnership with the NFL is very important to our state and our discussions over the last four days show how committed we both are to continuing to produce a quality event in Hawai'i," said Lingle in a prepared statement.
Jim Steeg, NFL senior vice president of special events, said the NFL appreciated Lingle's "many efforts" on helping with the turf talks.
"We are happy that FieldTurf will be installed in time for the 2004 Pro Bowl, and that as we begin the 25th year of the Hawai'i/NFL partnership, there will be a legacy for the youth of Hawai'i and the University," said Steeg in a press release. "The relationship between the state and various entities involved in this process has been strengthened from it."
Added Lingle: "We thank the NFL for their support and we too believe that this process will lead to a mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come."
Yesterday, the members of the Stadium Authority voted to approve the tentative $1.3 million contract and the installation of the turf after the Pro Bowl.
"We've agreed that the best time frame for installation will be in the April or May time frame," said boardmember Robin Campaniano, who chairs the turf installation committee. "That way we can get a better quality installation, and not have to worry about the rush, and the rain delays, and the like."
Campaniano said the turf installation in April will be done in baseball configuration, and later scaled down to football configuration.
He said previously scheduled stadium events, such as the Great Aloha Run on Feb. 17 and baseball games involving Korea's KIA Tigers and Hawai'i Pacific University, prevented the installation sooner.
About $800,000 of the $1.3 million contract will be paid by the state with the NFL and FieldTurf paying for the rest, according to Rex Johnson, Hawai'i Tourism Authority executive director.
FieldTurf CEO John Gilman originally estimated the project to cost $877,000 earlier this year.
Despite the prior contract with the NFL, the state will not incur any penalties for not having the turf installed before the Feb. 2 Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium manager Eddie Hayashi said.
Gilman yesterday said he still feels that he could have done the project in the original five-week time frame, but accepted the delay.
"Obviously with people going away on Christmas vacations and everything else, it was starting to look impossible to get some of the language on the contracts and everything else straightened out," Gilman said. "There just wasn't enough time to get the contracts signed."
Gilman said the turf material is sitting in about 10 shipping containers in Hawai'i.
"Everything's there," Gilman said. "All of the sand, all of the rubber, all of the turf. All the equipment is in the container. There's almost a million pounds of sand, 300,000 pounds of rubber."
The state spent $2.4 million to install AstroTurf at Aloha Stadium three years ago. The Stadium Authority still owes $1.5 million of that to the AstroTurf company.
The state paid the league $4.75 million this year to host the game. According to the five-year contract, the state will pay more each year, bringing the price to $5.5 million by 2005.
