Pro Bowl deal could be signed in June

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

A multimillion dollar contract that would keep the NFL's Pro Bowl in Honolulu through 2009 could be finalized next month, according to negotiators.

The NFL and state hope to sign the contract in June, said Hawai'i Tourism Authority executive director Rex Johnson, who is helping in negotiations.

"We're still working on it," Johnson said. "I think you'll have to give (negotiators) another month."

A tentative five-year deal was reached in February on the Pro Bowl, a game that has been hosted in Honolulu for the past 25 years.

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, according to HTA statistics.

The price Hawai'i pays to the NFL to host the game at Aloha Stadium has increased to more than $5.3 million for the most recent game played in February, and was to cost $5.6 million for the game in 2005.

However, Hawai'i's payments are expected to be reduced once the new contract is reached, said Larry Johnson, an HTA board member and the state's chief negotiator for the Pro Bowl.

The total value of the contract has not been finalized, according to all parties.

Jim Steeg, the NFL senior vice president for special events who is involved in negotiations, said Hawai'i's payments offset the cost of staging the Pro Bowl in Ho-nolulu. The NFL loses "at least $1 million" every year on the Pro Bowl, he said.

"Our most important consideration is where we are financially," Steeg added. "We've got a game that's losing money. We're trying to figure out ways so we can make sure that doesn't continue."

The 2004 Pro Bowl attracted 22,000 tourists and nearly $30 million in visitor dollars to Hawai'i, according to an HTA-commissioned study.

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