KYPack
02-27-2009, 11:04 AM
Everybody is watching all the FA signings today. We ain't gonna sign any, but this note caught my eye:
HONOLULU (AP) -- The Hawaii Tourism Authority board Thursday rejected the NFL's second proposal to return the Pro Bowl to the islands in 2011 and '12.
The 10-member board, however, approved a motion to renegotiate with the NFL, if the league is willing. The board voted 6-4 against the proposal. It cited several concerns, primarily the NFL's decision to move its annual all-star game to a week before the Super Bowl and whether the $4 million to host each game could be better used for other purposes.
"We are faced with different economic conditions than we were in the past and a dire need to bring as many (tourists) to this destination as we can from every potential market," board member Sharon Weiner told the panel. "This $4 million, I believe from a marketing perspective, could be better leveraged with other programs."
She added that moving the Pro Bowl a week before the Super Bowl would eliminate the "best players" from attending the all-star game. Weiner was among six board members who voted to reject the proposal. Seven votes were required to approve the NFL's bid.
Weiner was also one of three that voted not to return to talks with the NFL. The others were Vernon Char and Kyoko Kimura.
"It's committing today for the next two years. I'm not willing to commit $4 million," Char said after the board meeting.
Kimura, the head of a resort on Maui, told the panel that the sentiment for the Pro Bowl on islands outside of Oahu is "very, very low."
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league had not heard from the state and declined further comment.
However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this month said he wanted the game to return to Hawaii on a rotating basis and that playing the game a week before the Super Bowl was designed to bring greater exposure. He said the Pro Bowl was an "anticlimactic" ending to the season.
It was the second time the board rejected the NFL's proposal. The board felt an earlier proposal was written too vaguely, only guaranteeing two Pro Bowls in a four-year span.
The NFL returned with its latest proposal, guaranteeing the 2011 and '12 games.
I have little confidence in Goodell. I just don't think the guy knows what he's doing. Rozelle would never let an issue like this get publicity if the outcome was negative.
Play the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, for crissakes. The guys want to go there for vacation.
HONOLULU (AP) -- The Hawaii Tourism Authority board Thursday rejected the NFL's second proposal to return the Pro Bowl to the islands in 2011 and '12.
The 10-member board, however, approved a motion to renegotiate with the NFL, if the league is willing. The board voted 6-4 against the proposal. It cited several concerns, primarily the NFL's decision to move its annual all-star game to a week before the Super Bowl and whether the $4 million to host each game could be better used for other purposes.
"We are faced with different economic conditions than we were in the past and a dire need to bring as many (tourists) to this destination as we can from every potential market," board member Sharon Weiner told the panel. "This $4 million, I believe from a marketing perspective, could be better leveraged with other programs."
She added that moving the Pro Bowl a week before the Super Bowl would eliminate the "best players" from attending the all-star game. Weiner was among six board members who voted to reject the proposal. Seven votes were required to approve the NFL's bid.
Weiner was also one of three that voted not to return to talks with the NFL. The others were Vernon Char and Kyoko Kimura.
"It's committing today for the next two years. I'm not willing to commit $4 million," Char said after the board meeting.
Kimura, the head of a resort on Maui, told the panel that the sentiment for the Pro Bowl on islands outside of Oahu is "very, very low."
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league had not heard from the state and declined further comment.
However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this month said he wanted the game to return to Hawaii on a rotating basis and that playing the game a week before the Super Bowl was designed to bring greater exposure. He said the Pro Bowl was an "anticlimactic" ending to the season.
It was the second time the board rejected the NFL's proposal. The board felt an earlier proposal was written too vaguely, only guaranteeing two Pro Bowls in a four-year span.
The NFL returned with its latest proposal, guaranteeing the 2011 and '12 games.
I have little confidence in Goodell. I just don't think the guy knows what he's doing. Rozelle would never let an issue like this get publicity if the outcome was negative.
Play the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, for crissakes. The guys want to go there for vacation.