Hawaii Awarded 2013 NFL Pro Bowl
This report comes from NFL News Wednesday (May 30).
The 2013 Pro Bowl will be played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii for the 33rd time, the NFL and NFL Players Association announced today. The game will be televised live on Sunday, January 27 on NBC at 7 PM ET and again serve as the signature event to kick off the week leading up to the Super Bowl. …
“The players have made it clear through the NFL Players Association that they would like the opportunity to continue to play the Pro Bowl in Hawaii,” said NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson. “We will support the players on this initiative to improve the Pro Bowl. We have had many discussions with the players in recent years about the Pro Bowl and they recognize that the quality of the game has not been up to NFL standards. We look forward to working with the players toward the goal of improving the competitiveness of this season’s game.”
The Pro Bowl was held on Hawaii from 1980 to 2009, but in 2010 it was moved to week before the Super Bowl and held in the same South Florida stadium as the Super Bowl. The game returned to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012.
Gov. Neil Abercrombie has been critical of the fact that the state pays the NFL several million dollars to hold the Pro Bowl here. Defenders say the game brings media attention to the islands and benefits the community.
The governor, however, issued a statement on the news of the game returning:
This is wonderful news for football fans in Hawai’i and elsewhere who love watching the game. It’s also great news for NFL Players and their families who enjoy coming to our Aloha State.
I have had discussions with the Hawai’i Tourism Authority (HTA) and the NFL to look at ways in which we can provide a renewed experience for the game next year for the players, visitors, people of Hawai’i and fans the world over. Hawai’i has a variety of cultural experiences to offer and we want to be sure to highlight our uniqueness beyond the beauty of our landscape.
We look forward to working with the NFL and the HTA in this partnership and offer our hand in assisting the NFL as it builds relationships with our friends in Asia.
Statement from Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority:
We are extremely pleased the NFL will return to the Hawaiian Islands in 2013 for the Pro Bowl, and are grateful for our more than 30 year partnership. Many of us believe that there is no better place in the world to host this game.
