Orlando leaders eager to keep hosting Pro Bowl
3rd straight year marks end of contract
Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan said Orlando leaders want to keep the Pro Bowl in Central Florida as much as possible.
Orlando is poised to host the NFL’s all-star event for the third consecutive year on Jan. 27, but it marks the end of the league’s contract with Central Florida leaders.
Hogan said it was promising the NFL chose to pick up its option during the second and third years of the contract, continuing to bring the game back to Orlando when it wasn’t necessarily guaranteed after the first year.
“I’m so proud that we all as a community did enough that the NFL felt this was a good partnership and you have benefitted the Pro Bowl to keep coming back the second and third year,” Hogan said. “Now it’s a matter of what they want to do for the next number of years.
“We’re talking actively now about 2020 and beyond.
“They’re going to have options. The Super Bowl is going to be in the state of Florida twice after this year. How do they want to treat the Pro Bowl after this year? We’re actively discussing this now.”
Hogan said key Central Florida leaders want to keep hosting the Pro Bowl, which includes extensive events with groups such as Special Olympics at ESPN Wide of Sports and various other community service projects beyond the game that pits the best AFC players against top NFC talent.
“I think there’s interest from everybody in the tourism community, including us, to say, ‘If you want to be back, we’d like to have you back,’” Hogan said.
“But then the devil’s in the details. We’ll see how it goes from here.”
Hogan, whose group is the primary tenant at Camping World Stadium and constantly is adding to the portfolio of games and events it hosts, said he hopes the NFL maintains strong ties to Orlando beyond the 2019 Pro Bowl.
“Regardless of how often or how long, we want to be involved with the NFL and we want to be involved in their neutral site assets,” he said. “Hopefully that’s with the Pro Bowl and we’ll just keep going.”