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Hawaii governor says $4 million 'bribe' for Pro Bowl is wasteful
HONOLULU -- Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie said Thursday it's "so stupid" that the cash-strapped state pays millions to play host to the Pro Bowl when the money could be used for education.
Abercrombie said he opposes a deal the state made in 2009 to pay $4 million per game for the rights to hold the NFL's all-star game in Hawaii this and next year.
"You can't do things like give 4 million bucks to a $9 billion football industry and not give any money to children," Abercrombie said as he announced early-childhood education and health plans. "You've got this spectacle of these multimillionaires and billionaires out there arguing about how they're going to divide it up, and then they come and ask us to bribe them with $4 million to have a scrimmage out here in paradise.
"We've got to get our values straight and our priorities straight."
The Pro Bowl returned to Aloha Stadium this year after it was played in Miami in 2010, breaking up a 30-year run in Hawaii in which every game was a sellout.
The first-year Democratic governor and former longtime congressman said the NFL can ship the game back to Florida if it continues to require Hawaii to pay to keep it in the islands.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has no comment on Abercrombie's statements.
Tourism officials said this January's Pro Bowl attracted 17,000 visitors to the state, generated $28.15 million in visitor spending and created $3.07 million in state taxes from people who traveled to attend the game.
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