Florida Citrus Sports president Steve Hogan said last week he was hoping to bring the NFL back to Orlando. His dream was specifically for regular season games, although preseason games seemed more likely.
Then came the announcement of all announcements Tuesday.
Orlando has put in a bid not only to bring the NFL back to Orlando for the first time in nearly two decades, but also to bring all of its stars here. With the Pro Bowl still sojourning through the desert of rotating dates and locations, Orlando has stepped up to bid on the Pro Bowl in 2017 and beyond.
Both Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs and Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer confirmed the city’s bid to host the event.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs issues statement on possibility of NFL Pro Bowl coming to Orlando's Citrus Bowl: pic.twitter.com/0TfkccLptp
— Jeff Weiner (@JeffWeinerOS) April 19, 2016
We reconstructed @CitrusBowl to host events that benefit our economy which is why we're working w/ @FCSports to secure future @NFL Pro Bowl.
— Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) April 20, 2016
As Mayor Dyer said, these kind of events are exactly why the city and county invested so much money to renovate the Citrus Bowl. The Orlando Citrus Bowl will host WrestleMania for the second time in April 2017. Adding the Pro Bowl in early February would also be a pretty big national event to bring to Orlando.
And even without a NFL team, Orlando is a perfect location.
The league likes holding the Pro Bowl in Hawai’i because it is a vacation destination for the league and player’s families. Orlando too would serve that role well, providing a good mix of the “work” of the Pro Bowl along with the fun of the city and its assorted theme parks.
Hogan confirmed the city is “aggressively bidding” for the event to George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel.
The 2017 game is currently slated to play in Honolulu, Hawai’i, but either the city or the league can opt out of that contract before May 31. The bidding process — Houston and Sydney, Australia are also reportedly bidding on it — will move fairly quickly.
The numbers show that despite Orlando not having a NFL team, or any clear allegiance to the three teams in Florida, this is a NFL and football town. The NFL consistently and constantly dominates television ratings throughout the city each weekend and downtown is full of a wide variety of NFL jerseys on Sundays in the fall.
Orlando would undoubtedly be a welcome home to the event in that sense too.
Whether Orlando gets the game in 2017 — or even further beyond as the bidding process opens up — is how quickly it can put together a bid. As Mayor Jacobs noted in her statement, the ability for the county to support a bid would depend on refiguring the budget from the Tourist Development Tax.
Diaz reports it would take a $2.5 million bid for the NFL to bring the game to Orlando. This seemingly has become a sudden budget item to deal with.
There is no faulting Hogan and Florida Citrus Sports for thinking big here. Orlando certainly is the kind of city that would match the Pro Bowl and its mood and atmosphere.
