Pro Bowl contract
nears completion
Hawaii Tourism Authority officials expect to sign a contract with the NFL by the end of next month to host the Pro Bowl through 2009.
Negotiators came to a tentative agreement on a new deal during meetings while NFL officials were here for the Feb. 8 game. The deal is closer to completion after follow-up meetings, including a teleconference yesterday with HTA officials and NFL senior vice president Jim Steeg.
"We're in total agreement, both the HTA and the NFL," HTA board member Larry Johnson said. "It's in the process of being documented by attorneys. We expect it to be done in the next 30 to 45 days."
However, HTA chairman Rex Johnson said, "There are still a couple of points we have to get through. I wouldn't call them minor, but I wouldn't call them major, and we're on track to wrap it up in 45 days."
The current contract expires after next year's game, and requires the state to pay $5.6 million for hosting rights. The new deal will cost the state less, Larry Johnson said after the February meetings.
Part of the new deal involves the University of Hawaii athletic department assisting in some marketing, ticketing and game operation functions, which would help the NFL lower its expenses.
Steeg deferred comment to the HTA officials yesterday.
The Pro Bowl has been played at Aloha Stadium the past 25 years.
Also, the NFL will hold its annual meetings on Maui in March of next year. They were last held in Hawaii in 1991.