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		This could be a Pro Bowl to really be forgotten; TV blackout By Scary Barry January 28, 2009

	HONOLULU--The NFL Network has made an announcement that the Pro Bowl set to be played on Sunday Feb 8th could be very well blacked out. Were just minus 11 days until kick off at Aloha Stadium in what could be the very last Pro Bowl played in Honolulu in what Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL say will be rotated with the Super Bowl. The game would tour Honolulu on a rotational basis but it won't be a regular ritual like it was since 1980 being played in Honolulu each year. There are 5,000 tickets still available at press time and the NFL said that these tickets need to be purchased 72 hours before the Feb 8th kickoff or the game will be blacked out. The economic turn down was given the main reason why ticket sales have been slow and normally at this time of the year some less than two weeks before the game the game would have been sold out by now. Tourism is to be blamed as the Hawaiian Tourism Authority as said that tourism is way down and spending to boot. "The NFL is not immune to the pressures of the economic environment and that's true of all of our events and all of our games. So we don't know what the effect on the Super Bowl will be, whether people will buy a little less merchandise or a little less concessions, the final results won't be known until after the game is played." said Frank Supovitz NFL senior vice president of events. Last season the state of Hawaii took in $28 million on visitor spending during Pro Bowl week and $2.5 million in state taxes. Like Supovitz says the end result will be when the numbers are tallied after the game is played. If the game is sold out and televised there is still a matter of advertisers who have backed out and TV ratings needed. NBC is hurting after Fed Ex and General Motors have pulled their ads due to economic conditions at the Super Bowl. The State of Hawaii and the NFL are still negotiating to try and keep the game in Hawaii but Hawaii turned down the last offer by the NFL. The NFL says that they cannot pay the amount that Hawaii is asking for due to cautious spending by the league. Both sides are trying to get a deal done before the NFL leaves Hawaii. Scary Barry is covering the Pro Bowl for Sportstalk Radio.