Hula Bowl revenues
far short of goal

Maui Mayor Lingle and organizers
say they will continue the annual
all-star football event

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- Maui Mayor Linda Lingle's administration has fallen about 78 percent short of projected hotel revenues from the Hooters Hula Bowl.

But Lingle, county lawmakers and organizers say they're satisfied enough with the first-year results to continue the annual all-star football event.

The game, played at a sold-out War Memorial stadium, was shown live Jan. 18 on ESPN.

Lingle, now a Republican gubernatorial candidate, obtained authorization from the County Council last year to spend $1.2 million to improve the War Memorial stadium for the event, after estimating the county would receive $500,000 over a five-year period from participating Maui hotels.

The county received $21,207 from the hotels this year, $78,793 short of its goal.

Organizers say part of the reason for the low revenue may stem from a poor method of tracking visitors attending the event, and the lack of an agreement with all hotels to pay 10 percent of room revenues from Hula Bowl bookings.

"We know there were people who came to the island to attend the Hula Bowl who didn't go through the designated booking companies," said Marsha Wienert, executive director of the Maui Visitors Association.

Ed Sowers, general manager of Aston Wailea Resort, said he feels other travel industry-related companies should consider contributing 10 percent of the money received from bowl bookings.

"I would challenge the rental car companies, the airlines, other facets of the travel industry to voluntarily do the same thing," Sowers said.

County officials point out they had only six months to prepare for the event. They expect to do a better job promoting it and tracking room reservations in the future.

Supporters say the major benefit is promoting Maui as a visitor destination with about two hours of national TV coverage in mid-January, a historically slow time for tourism.

An estimated 3.1 million people saw the game, said Lloyd Yonenaka, a Lingle spokesman.

"You couldn't pay for that kind of stuff," Yonenaka said.

Yonenaka said Maui nonprofit groups also received $23,000 from their work at concession stands during the game.

He said visitors who attended the game spent an estimated $4.7 million on Maui, considerably more than the $2 million initially anticipated.

Residents involved in youth football say the community will also benefit from the stadium improvements, including new locker rooms and an additional 9,400 bleacher-type seats.

"I think it was a pretty good gesture," said Maui Pop Warner President Joseph Apolo.

Apolo said he's looking forward to his league using the stadium to play in the statewide Pop Warner championships in 1999.

Bowl Games of Hawaii, the business organizing the Hula Bowl, said it has signed a contract with ESPN for future games.

Leonard Klompus, chief executive officer of Bowl Games, said his business is adding an after-game concert with LeeAnn Rimes to the event.