2010 Pro Bowl to be Played in Miami

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

In a very intriguing turn of events today, the National Football League announced that the Pro Bowl following the 2009 season will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2010 and televised live on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET from Dolphin Stadium in South Florida, also the site of Super Bowl XLIV a week later on Sunday, February 7. The 2010 Pro Bowl will be the first played prior to the Super Bowl and only the second Pro Bowl played in the same city as the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Coliseum hosted the first Super Bowl on January 15, 1967 and the Pro Bowl the following week. The site and date of Pro Bowl games after 2010 will be determined at a later date and will include playing the game on a rotating basis in Honolulu, Hawaii, host of the NFL’s All-Star game since 1980.

The initiative to experiment with the Pro Bowl schedule and location was discussed over the past two years with NFL club owners, the NFL Players Association, the NFL Player Advisory Council, and other players, and it received wide player and club support. NFL senior VP of events Frank Supovitz explained the reasoning:

“Moving the Pro Bowl to the Sunday prior to the Super Bowl can add even more excitement to Super Bowl week, one of the most anticipated weeks of the year. Taking the Pro Bowl to new locations can showcase our top players to more fans around the country. We are also in discussions with key leaders in Hawaii to continue our partnership with the State of Hawaii, which has embraced the Pro Bowl for 30 years.”

I haven’t given this a lot of thought over the years, but it does make sense. The Pro Bowl will have been a Hawaii staple for the past 30 years after this season’s game and it’s always been something of an afterthought as far as I’m concerned. As much as I love Hawaii (OK, I’ve never been there but I’ve heard good things), the game has little or no interest among even the most hardcore NFL fans. The season is over. It’s enough already. Our thoughts have already turned to the Scouting Combine and Draft. So, adding the game to Super Bowl week should generate a lot more interest in this All-Star contest, even if the teams involved in SBXLIV can’t participate.

Source: NFL Media