Proposed Rams preseason game in ’19 still in play

A preseason football game featuring the Los Angeles Rams at Aloha Stadium in 2019 remains a possibility, and the Rams have also offered to hold a preseason minicamp in Hawaii this year.

But there was no done deal as of Tuesday, four months after talks started between the NFL team and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

The HTA is weighing whether such a venture would be worth an undisclosed rights fee, president George Szigeti said.

“We are currently assessing this partnership opportunity to determine whether HTA has the available budget to offer sponsorship support without compromising other important marketing and community programs,” Szigeti said, in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “We anticipate conducting a formal review with HTA’s board of directors and making a decision in the near future.”

With training camps starting in less than two months, that decision would have to come very soon if the agreement includes a Rams minicamp prior to the 2018 season. That was one of the items outlined in a document made available to the public at the HTA’s board meeting last week.

The document also details how being a “Proud Partner of the Los Angeles Rams” would benefit Hawaii in terms of “brand alliance” with a team representing its largest tourism market. It also describes community appearances the Rams would make in Hawaii.

A Rams official declined comment when contacted Tuesday.

In February, the Star-Advertiser’s Ferd Lewis reported that HTA’s then-vice president for marketing and development, Leslie Dance, said HTA and the Rams were in “very, very preliminary” talks about the first NFL preseason game in Hawaii since 1976.

HTA did not address Tuesday if an opponent for the Rams has been secured, or if the rights fee is still being negotiated.

Aloha Stadium officials have not been involved in talks, stadium manager Scott Chan said.

“I’m hoping it goes through,” Chan said. “It would be great for the state.”

Hawaii hosted the NFL’s Pro Bowl every year except two from 1980 to 2016. The state paid an annual rights fee, which was $5.15 million the last year. The last two Pro Bowls have been in Orlando, Fla.

The NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to hold their training camp at the University of Hawaii again this fall after doing so for the first time last year, HTA announced in March.

A UFC card for this August at Aloha Stadium featuring world champion Max Holloway from Waianae was discussed earlier this year, but talks stalled when UFC asked for $6 million in rights and HTA countered with a $1 million offer.

LA Rams partnership with Hawaii Tourism Authority by Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Scribd