Thursday, August 2, 2001

Aloha Bowl
dies again

San Francisco didn't want to
host a game on Christmas;
Anaheim is under consideration

---

By Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.com

The San Francisco Bowl is no more.

Aloha Sports Inc. chief executive officer Fritz Rohling confirmed it yesterday after ABC-TV refused to broadcast the postseason bowl game unless it was played on Christmas Day. Rohlfing had tentatively set a Dec. 30 date at San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park.

Sponsors there didn't want to play on Christmas for fear no one would come to see a game pitting a fourth team from the Pac-10 against the fourth choice of the Big East. Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson said last week that Rohlfing had until Monday to make a deal or lose the Pac-10 connection.

Rohlfing is attempting to move the game to Anaheim, Calif., but that is considered a long shot. Rohlfing listed Honolulu as a possible site at the NCAA certification meetings last April in Florida. But sources said yesterday the former Aloha Bowl would not be played here.

"We are currently negotiating with the Pac-10 Conference to bring the bowl game to Anaheim," Rohlfing said in a release. "We are presently negotiating with ABC to broadcast the former Aloha Bowl. In our negotiations, we have expressed a willingness to play the bowl game on Christmas Day, which is of primary concern to ABC."

According to Rohlfing, Anaheim has expressed interest in hosting the game at Edison International Field. With the backing of Anaheim and Orange County officials, Rohlfing said he would present the package to the Pac-10 early next week.

This recent turn of events will have no affect on the Seattle Bowl (former Oahu Bowl) that will be played on Dec. 27. The Pac-10 will send its fourth team there to face the fourth choice of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Rohlfing took over the Christmas Day Doubleheader in April of 2000. Last year's two bowl games between Georgia and Virginia on Christmas Eve, and Boston College and Arizona State on Christmas were attendance disasters, prompting Rohlfing to move the games to the mainland.

"It's not something we wanted to do," Rohlfing said in the spring. "But based on the recent trends, we felt like we had no choice but to leave Honolulu and move these games to the mainland."