Sports tourism shifts focus to neighbor isles, other events

Most of Hawaii’s $9.7 million sports marketing budget last year was spent on football and Oahu, but the loss of the high-ticket NFL Pro Bowl might finally give other sports, and islands, a chance to get some skin in the state’s lucrative sports tourism game.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority spent 80 percent of its 2016 sports tourism dollars on Oahu, where it spread nearly $7.8 million across 16 events, according to an analysis of HTA data obtained by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser through a public records request. During that same period, HTA invested $1.4 million, or about 14 percent of its sports dollars, in 13 neighbor island sporting events.

Nearly 60 percent of the HTA’s sports funds in 2016, or $5.5 million, was spent on the Pro Bowl, the Hawaii Bowl and the Polynesian Hall of Fame Celebration, honoring Polynesian football greats. The NFL’s decision to opt out of a 2017 Hawaii contract and give Orlando a three-year deal returned $5.2 million to the HTA, which invested the money into global marketing contracts instead of sports.

In January, the Pro Bowl stumbled to its lowest television rating in a decade. That doesn’t mean the all-star game will never return to Hawaii. Still, it created an impetus to plan for a future without an event that over the last four decades had evolved into the linchpin of state sports tourism strategy.

“If the Pro Bowl wanted to come back to use the site with a large sponsor, that might work, but it doesn’t make sense to pay more than $1 million for a game no one watches,” said Keith Vieira, principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting.

Push for new stadium

Infrastructure concerns also highlight the need for a new sports strategy along with the coming expiration of the high-profile PGA tour contract, said Mark Rolfing, an NBC TV golf analyst, who headed a panel in 2015 to advise Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui on the creation of a Hawaii sports authority.

The panel didn’t result in a sports authority; however, it raised awareness about Aloha Stadium’s deterioration, Rolfing said. In April, outside consultants labeled the 43-year-old stadium a “safety and financial liability.” They’ve recommended that the state build and operate a smaller adjacent stadium, which would have 30,000 to 35,000 seats and could expand to 40,000 seats.

Vieira said he supports adding a smaller stadium to host Little League games and concerts, but favors positioning it on a portion of the Ala Wai Golf Course to capitalize on Waikiki’s visitor traffic. Rolfing also thinks the facility should be in the state’s top visitor district or downtown.

“With the Pro Bowl, the stadium and the PGA Tour coming up for renewal, the time is now to come up with a sustainable strategy,” Rolfing said. “I don’t think we need another bill or law. We just need a big room with notepads, pencils and chairs, and enthusiastic people.”

Rolfing said the private sector must join HTA’s sports marketing planning, which ramped up last August when the agency awarded New York-based Ascendent Sports Group a $200,000 contract to create a niche sports tourism playbook.

Gain for neighbor isles

HTA’s fiscal year 2017 sports marketing budget has dropped to $4.3 million, but excluding the Pro Bowl has allowed for diversification across islands and categories, said Leslie Dance, HTA vice president for marketing and product development.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of community support for the Pro Bowl anymore. We are looking at a portfolio approach with maybe only one kind of marquee event like the Clippers,” Dance said, referring to the Los Angeles NBA team that plans to play two exhibition games in Honolulu this year. “We have to bear in mind our brand and our facilities and look at what’s right for our destination.”

Bo Campos, president of the Kai ‘Opua Canoe Club, said HTA’s neighbor island diversification has made a huge difference to the Kona-­based Queen Lili‘uokalani Canoe Races, which received $50,000 from the agency in 2017.

“It’s been a major help,” Campos said. “We’ve gone from one to five days. About 33 percent of the participants are international or from the mainland. Now, I can get out there and bring in more people.”

While the agency added several smaller-scale events in 2017, it continued high-­dollar events like the Sony Open ($625,000), the LPGA Lotte Championship ($500,000), the Diamond Head Classic and the Hawaii Bowl ($475,000), the PGA Tour’s Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai ($300,000) and the Ironman ($250,000.) It also awarded a new $600,000 contract to the Clippers.

Dance said the Clippers began showcasing Hawaii on Dec. 4 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The preseason training camp is slated to begin Sept. 26 with a fanfest at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Games are expected to be Oct. 1 and 3 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Surfing event possible

Dance said she wants to add at least three events to fiscal year 2018, which begins in July. Next week, she will meet with officials from the World Surf League and the Honolulu Marathon, which bolsters visitors during the seasonal December lull and was the nation’s fifth-largest marathon last year.

While the World Surf League has crowned world surfing champions for 40 years, the organization needs community involvement and regional collaboration to grow, said Jodi Wilmott, WSL Hawaii/Tahiti general manager, who spoke Thursday at a Hawaii Society of Business Professionals luncheon.

Partnering with HTA is a natural fit since 82 percent of World Surf League fans are interested in taking a surf trip to Hawaii, Wilmott said. The sports organization also has a high return on investment and fan bases in the state’s most coveted visitor markets, she said.