HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	181
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

requesting the hawaii tourism authority to negotiate a contract extension with the national football league to keep the pro bowl in honolulu.

     WHEREAS, the National Football League, which receives an annual subsidy of $4,500,000 from the Hawaii Tourism Authority to hold the annual all-star Pro Bowl in Honolulu, has indicated that it may relocate the game to another city after the existing contract expires with the 2009 game; and

     WHEREAS, over the course of the nearly three decades during which Honolulu has hosted the Pro Bowl, enthusiastic athletes and fans have revived and revitalized a contest in danger of becoming a moribund post-season game absent many of the all-stars and attended by dwindling crowds; and

     WHEREAS, since 1980, the Pro Bowl game has been an annual sellout in the fifty thousand-seat Aloha Stadium; and

     WHEREAS, the Pro Bowl has brought as many as twenty-five thousand visitors from across the Pacific Ocean and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to our islands each year, and it has also provided an opportunity to showcase Hawaii's natural beauty to a wide television audience, many of whom watch from cold winter climates; and

     WHEREAS, the Pro Bowl has become a major economic asset to the National Football League and to the State, and the National Football League is also firmly ensconced as an important partner in supporting many worthy charitable organizations in the islands; and

     WHEREAS, keeping this unique sporting event in Hawaii for years to come should be a major priority of the Hawaii Tourism Authority; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that the Hawaii Tourism Authority is requested to make every effort to extend the National Football League's contract to hold the annual Pro Bowl in our State; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Tourism Authority is requested to report to the Legislature on the status and details of its negotiations no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Executive Director of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Contract extension with the National Football League to keep the Pro Bowl in Honolulu