NFL, state near deal to keep Pro Bowl until 2009

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state will pay the NFL less money to host the Pro Bowl under a tentative five-year agreement that will keep the football all-star game in Hawai'i at least until 2009, according to the state's key negotiator.

Amy Hanaiali‘i Gilliom, left, and Willie K. performed during halftime of Sunday’s Pro Bowl. The game, which sold out for the 24th time in 25 games in Hawai‘i, is likely to remain here through at least 2009. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The proposed agreement would allow the state to renegotiate the amount paid to host the 2005 game, and would provide new payments for the four years thereafter, said Johnson. The total value of the agreement hasn't been finalized, according to all parties. Johnson said the state and the NFL hoped to finalize the contract over the next couple of months.

The price Hawai'i pays to the NFL to host the game at Aloha Stadium has increased to more than $5.3 million for this past Sunday's game, and was to cost $5.6 million for the game in 2005. However, that amount is expected to be reduced once the new contract is reached, said Johnson, the retired chairman and CEO of Bank of Hawai'i.

"The verbal agreement that we have calls for the rights fee that we pay the NFL to be less than what we have in the existing contract," Johnson said.

Johnson declined to say how much less the new contract would be worth, or why the NFL agreed to take less money for the Pro Bowl, a game that Hawai'i has hosted for the past 25 years.

Jim Steeg, the NFL senior vice president for special events who is involved in negotiations, refused to confirm that the NFL would accept lower payments by the state to host the game.

"I just don't want to comment about the negotiations when you're in the middle of them," Steeg said. "It's like talking about a player, saying that you got your star quarterback about to get signed, and he hasn't signed the contract yet. Wait until it's all done."

The NFL is expected to benefit from stronger partnerships from the University of Hawai'i, the Stadium Authority, and the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, Johnson said.

The HVCB and UH will work with the HTA to create marketing opportunities for groups to travel to the Pro Bowl and its related events, Johnson said.

Tom Sadler, UH's associate athletic director, said the university can assist the NFL in providing sports marketing, fan participation, selling of corporate sponsorships and ticket sales.

Sadler said UH has never assisted the Pro Bowl on such a large scale before, and that the two parties are still in negotiations for payment of services. Sadler said the proposed agreement with the NFL will not violate any NCAA rules.

"We can do it; it's not an issue with the NCAA with us being involved with the NFL to put this game on," said Sadler, who has dealt previously with Steeg and the NFL, including the 1996 Super Bowl when Sadler was the stadium manager at Arizona State University. "We're still crafting the concept of what it is we're going to do with (the NFL), before we start putting the value on it. Obviously, it's a situation where it's going to be a win-win for both entities."

The Stadium Authority supported the NFL by approving the installation of the new FieldTurf last year, said Rex Johnson, executive director of HTA, who is helping in negotiations.

"Certainly our longstanding relationship with the NFL, and the fact that the players are shown a very good time when they come to Hawai'i, are very important factors in the overall negotiations," Rex Johnson said.

The Pro Bowl is the most expensive sporting event the state pays to host, nearly doubling the $2.7 million paid for 16 other sporting events this fiscal year, including $2.1 million for six golf tournaments and its related marketing programs, according to HTA statistics.

The state's payment to the NFL helps offset the cost of staging the Pro Bowl in Hawai'i, which is more than $9 million, Steeg said.

"The bad news is we still lose money on the game," Steeg said. "We were willing to lose something, we just don't want to lose our shirts. The subsidy is to get us to the point where we can afford to play it."

Steeg said the subsidy is used to pay for sending NFL players and representatives to the game and other league expenses.

Steeg said Sunday's Pro Bowl was televised for more than five hours on cable network ESPN. He hoped future Pro Bowls could generate more exposure for Hawai'i.

"I would say that everyone was more than pleased with what ESPN did this year with the 5 1/2 hours they were on the air," Steeg said. "Our goal is to try to get more time on ESPN."

During part of Sunday's telecast, ESPN showed segments of players experiencing Hawai'i'.

Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez was featured spearfishing and Chief running back Priest Holmes visited the Arizona Memorial.

According to HTA statistics, the 2003 Pro Bowl brought in 18,000 visitors to Hawai'i, which accounted for $28.07 million in visitor spending and $2.72 million in state taxes.

Visitor figures for this year's event won't be released until later this week.

The event also brings in significant media exposure to the state. In 2003, the game was viewed by 6.3 million households, the HTA said. This year's game drew 4.2 million households.

Earlier this month an NFL-commissioned study concluded the Pro Bowl is worth $12.1 million in advertising for Hawai'i.

Steeg said he characterized the negotiations as "extremely positive," and that he's met several key people, including legislators and Gov. Linda Lingle to make sure everyone was "all in agreement."

"I feel highly optimistic that we're going to get something done in this very short term," Steeg said.

Pro Bowl fan Mike Wood, of Makiki, said he was happy to hear that the game would continue in Hawai'i. The 63-year-old real estate developer, who has gone to all 25 Pro Bowls in Honolulu, bought 10 tickets at $85 apiece for Sunday's game.

"Having the NFL here is great," Wood said. "I think the state ought to work with the NFL to try and get as many tie-in promotions and tie-in events as they can. I'd love to see it stay here. Most of the people I go to the game with feel the same way."

On Sunday, the NFC beat the AFC, 55-52, in the highest-scoring Pro Bowl in history. A sellout crowd of 50,127 in Aloha Stadium attended. It was the game's 24th sellout.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.