Sydney "is fast becoming the second home for American sports" with the harbor city in the box seat to host the NFL’s annual Pro Bowl game," according to the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH.
On the back of securing the opening game of the U.S. college football season in August at ANZ Stadium, Sydney "is preparing to put in a major bid to host NFL’s all-stars match next year."
Brazil and Melbourne "are also in the mix, however, Sydney’s proven record in hosting major sporting events including Major League Baseball’s 2014 season opener at the SCG makes it the frontrunner." NFL Exec VP of Int'l Mark Waller previously stated that "Australia could be an option to host the Pro Bowl at some point in the future." Waller said, "It’s hard to imagine taking a regular-season game to Australia or Asia or the far east because how would you make the logistics work and then be competitive? But the great thing about the Pro Bowl is that it’s a celebration of the end of the season, so we are much more open to where in the world would it be fantastic for players to go and celebrate the end of the season." Thanks to Jarryd Hayne’s journey at the San Francisco 49ers and countless other Australians excelling in the NFL, "the popularity of American football in Australia is booming" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 1/23).
