Florida Citrus Sports officials yesterday confirmed that they "have submitted a proposal" that would bring the Pro Bowl to Central Florida not just in '17, but "for the next three years," according to a front-page piece by George Diaz of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said, "We believe it is the best city to host the Pro Bowl, and the NFL has given us the opportunity to pitch our city." Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said that she was "very supportive of the proposal, predicated on freeing up Tourist Development Tax dollars to help secure the bid, which would include hosting fees." Diaz notes the NFL is reportedly seeking $2.5M from Florida Citrus Sports' bid for the '17 game, which "would be paid using various local funds." NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy in an email wrote that multiple cities "are interested in hosting the Pro Bowl," including Houston; Sydney, Australia; and Honolulu. Hogan said that there is "no timetable for a decision by the NFL," but he indicated that a decision "could come within a week or two" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 4/20). YAHOO SPORTS' Eric Adelson noted Orlando "offers pleasant weather and a recently renovated stadium." A Pro Bowl in Orlando "could create some buzz, at least locally, as the city has never had a professional football team." Still, there are "concerns with the game that go beyond location." No matter where the game is held, it "still has to be made more interesting to viewers, who won't care what city is hosting" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/19).
GEORGIA ON MY MIND: ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure noted Falcons Owner Arthur Blank has mentioned the "possibility of attracting the NFL draft to Atlanta." Blank: "We want to see it in Atlanta. We've told that to the NFL. But right now, we're competing for a Super Bowl. So, I think the league's view on that is that they probably are not going to spread the wealth, so they're not going to be holding the draft where the Super Bowl is going to be held as well." He added, "We're competing for the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Super Bowls, and the vote will be in May. So, we'll see how that comes out. But we definitely have made it clear that we'd like to be city that is considered for the draft in the future." Blank said Atlanta would hold the draft "down at the World Congress Center next to the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in some form or fashion." Blank: "The same reasons why we think the Super Bowl would make sense in Atlanta, the draft would make a lot of sense in Atlanta" (ESPN.com, 4/19).
