Posted on: Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Pro Bowl worth $39.5 million

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Last week's NFL Pro Bowl drew 25,400 tourists and generated $39.45 million in visitor spending, according to a study released yesterday.

Those numbers are up from last year's Pro Bowl, which attracted nearly 22,000 visitors and produced $29.5 million in spending.

Of the roughly 50,000 spectators at this year's Pro Bowl on Feb. 13, 33,300 were visitors and 25,400 of them came to Hawai'i specifically to watch the game, according to a Market Trends Pacific study commissioned by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

They spent about $39.45 million and contributed $3.83 million in state taxes, the study said.

The state paid $4.75 million to the NFL for the right to host the Pro Bowl this year. The NFL agreed to keep the all-star football game at Aloha Stadium at least through 2009, with the state paying $4 million per year.

The HTA also reimburses the NFL $90,000 for stadium operating costs, a figure that will grow 5 percent each year.

An NFL-commissioned study on the 2003 Pro Bowl concluded that the event is worth $12.1 million annually in advertising for Hawai'i.

Other findings from the study:

• About 28 percent of the tourists at the Pro Bowl planned to visit a Neighbor Island, down from 41 percent last year. The majority of these visitors planned to go to Maui.

• Visitors at the Pro Bowl stayed an average of 9.9 days, up from 8.6 days last year.

• Forty-two percent indicated they have a household income greater than $75,000, up from 38 percent last year.

• About 85 percent of visitors at the Pro Bowl had decided to attend the game before arriving here, compared to 91 percent last year.

• Seventy-eight percent of visitors at the Pro Bowl participated in other activities such as golf, tennis, biking and swimming while in Hawai'i, roughly the same number as last year. About 76 percent visited or planned to visit attractions such as Pearl Harbor, Sea Life Park, Diamond Head or the Polynesian Cultural Center, down from 81 percent last year.

Market Trends Pacific surveyed 503 Hawai'i visitors at the Pro Bowl for the study.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.