The Hawaii Tourism Authority has announced the issuance of a request for proposal for a “sports marketing/events agency” to assist the HTA in attracting and maintaining events that attract visitors to the state.

“Sports presents opportunities to expand our marketing platform in fulfilling HTA’s mission to support tourism on behalf of Hawai‘i’s taxpayers,” said Leslie Dance, vice president of marketing and product development for the HTA, in a release on Wednesday.

“We want to capitalize on sports events that support Hawai‘i’s brand image, and encourage people to come here from around the world to experience the islands before, during and after the event, especially first-time visitors,” Dance said.

Written proposals responding to the RFP are due to HTA by April 25, with the contractor to be selected by May 13, the HTA said. The one-year contract would begin June 1, 2016.

The state legislature is currently considering two bills aimed at comprehensive statewide coordination of sports marketing. One would create a sports and entertainment authority and the other a task force.