Terrible decision. Sells out every year. The players and families love coming here. Who wants to go to Florida? They'll be back in 2011.
Pro Bowl headed to Miami in 2010Advertiser Staff
The Pro Bowl, which found a highly successful home in Hawai'i since 1980, will move to Miami in 2010.
The Associated Press reported today that the game will be played one week before the Super Bowl in 2010 and both games will be staged in Dolphin Stadium, a person directly involved in the decision told AP.
The last scheduled Pro Bowl in Hawai'i will be played Feb. 8, 2009.
"Well, that is upsetting," said Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts in a telephone interview.
"For somebody who played in the first five in Honolulu, it was always special for me and my teammates. I just think with the support that we got in Honolulu, it was always top-notched. The friendships that were made were incredible. I got to meet some great people.
I hope it does move back."
"It should come as no surprise. The NFL has been talking about this for a number of years," said Mayor Mufi Hannemann.
The current contract between the state and the NFL expires in 2009 and the NFL had the option of moving the game.
This decision, however, does not preclude the NFL from returning to Hawai'i.
"While I am disappointed the Pro Bowl likely will not be played in Hawai'i in 2010, I respect the NFL's decision to play the post-season all-star game in the same city as the Super Bowl, one-week before the Super Bowl, on a one-year test basis," said Gov. Linda Lingle in a press release.
"The senior leadership of the NFL told me explicitly that their decision had nothing to do with anything the State did or did not do, but was an opportunity to try something they had been talking about for years.
"I am optimistic that the Pro Bowl will return to Hawai'i in 2011. I, along with the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, will continue to maintain open and ongoing dialogue with the NFL. The State of Hawai'i and the NFL have had a successful and collaborative 28-year relationship, and I am confident that this partnership will continue in the long-run."
Before coming to Hawai'i, the Pro Bowl bounced around from city to city. It was played in Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, Louisiana, Seattle and Miami, cities that already had NFL franchises. Miami actually drew the lowest attendance of all Pro Bowls (26,484 in 1975).
But in 1980 the NFL decided to move to Hawai'i, a site with a strong NFL following but no NFL franchise.
The game was an instant success, and has been throughout the year. The game has sold out every year at the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
The first Pro Bowl featured players such as current NFL TV analysts Terry Bradshaw and Tom Jackson, Hall of Famers Roger Staubach, Walter Payton, Earl Campbell, Jack Lambert and Fouts.
Another member of the 1980 Pro Bowl team was Archie Manning, whose two sons, Peyton and Eli, were voted to play in the 2009 Pro Bowl.
The notion to have the game moved up to take place between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl is not new. The NFL has discussed it multiple times in recent years, and commissioner Roger Goodell told the AP last month that having the game precede the Super Bowl would avoid a "somewhat anticlimactic" ending to the season.
"Anticlimactic for everybody but Hawai'i," Hannemann said.
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081229/BREAKING02/81229037/0/BREAKING03
