State needs $1 mil for Pro Bowl

The contract for the 1999 NFL all-star game calls for a $3 million payment but that's more than the state has put aside

By Keith Kosaki
Star-Bulletin

With statewide budget cuts looming, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism needs to find an additional $1.1 million to fund the 1999 Pro Bowl.

The co-chairmen of a Senate panel said yesterday the funds are essential because the state and National Football League have already agreed to a contract.

Last summer, the state negotiated a new deal to keep the NFL all-star game here until at least 2001. But the new contract calls for a $3 million payment for the 1999 Pro Bowl while DBEDT's 1999 budget has only $1.9 million allocated to pay for the game.

As a result, DBEDT is now requesting $26.8 million for its fiscal 1999 budget, instead of the $25.7 million it originally sought.

Gov. Ben Cayetano recently asked all state departments to prepare for cuts as high as 10 percent.

Senate Economic Development Co-Chairman Brian Taniguchi (D, Manoa) said he's hopeful the state can find the money.

"We're going to try and help. Where (the money is) going to come from, I don't know," he said.

Taniguchi's fellow co-chairman, Sen. Joe Tanaka (D, Wailuku), said DBEDT needs the money - even if the state can't provide it. "There's no way we can't fund that," Tanaka said.

Tanaka said the city should offer financial help, because it benefits from the Pro Bowl's economic impact, but it doesn't contribute anything. The Pro Bowl, which is played at Aloha Stadium on the Sunday after the Super Bowl, brings in about 30,000 visitors, and $80 million in sales and revenues, Cayetano has said.

Tanaka said he's concerned that DBEDT would need to use funds from its existing 1999 budget if the request is denied.

Most of DBEDT's tourism budget goes to the Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau, which uses the money for marketing.