If this is to be the last Pro Bowl in Aloha Stadium, the NFL apparently wants it to go out with a loud, full house.
Two elements the game has struggled to maintain here lately.
The league has yet to say whether its agreement with the state will be extended past Jan. 31, 2016, the last game under the current contract, but is looking to lower ticket prices and is seeking other ways to spice up the event.
A delegation from NFL Headquarters left town Friday saying it expects the average ticket price will be reduced by about $10, and the lowest level reduced to $30 when tickets are put on sale in the fall.
They would be significant moves in the all-star game’s four-decade association with Hawaii, where the league has historically been able to assure a sellout at any price.
But the game’s attendance, like its TV ratings, has been on the wane here. The last three appearances at Aloha Stadium — 2012, ‘13 and ‘14 — drew announced crowds of 48,423, 47,134 and 47,270 when ticket prices ranged from $45 to $180. They were the smallest turnouts of the 36 held here. The previous 10 games averaged more than 50,000.
The 2010 game at Sun Life Stadium in Florida drew 70,697, and the 2015 game in Arizona lured 63,225, when the Pro Bowl was packaged with the Super Bowl in NFL stadiums. They are the only games played away from Aloha Stadium since the event landed on these shores in 1980.
Speculation about whether the Pro Bowl would remain here past 2016 has been heightened by remarks from Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL officials as recently as May in which Brazil was identified as among the possibilities as the league looks to 2017 and beyond.
NFL officials spent four days in town this week conducting site inspections, meeting with partners and working on new marketing possibilities.
Decisions on the game’s future rest with the league’s owners, and an NFL spokesman told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “We are using this summer and fall to analyze all options. Our main focus is making the Pro Bowl a major success in 2016.”
Hall of Fame receivers Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin are scheduled to captain the 2016 teams under a format that debuted here in 2014.
Peter O’Reilly, NFL senior vice president of events, said the league is attempting to “find the sweet spot” in its pricing in order to “make the game accessible to as many fans as possible. We want to increase their options.”
The NFL said it will offer a special package presale on probowl.com.
O’Reilly said, “We’re excited to have the game back in Hawaii and we think it is important to have local fans and their energy now that the Pro Bowl is back here. We want to (tap into) that energy that the players want and expect, giving them an excited fan base to cheer them on. Our goal is to pack them in on game day in January.”
Left to be seen is if that will have any impact on the decision of whether the Pro Bowl returns.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
