I heard the opposite - a lot of players didn't care for a long flight for a game that essentially prolonged their season.The players generally love going to Hawaii but I could see Orlando becomming even more popular. I hear it is a popular ticket already.
I heard the opposite - a lot of players didn't care for a long flight for a game that essentially prolonged their season.
Yep. Contrast with Florida (or California to some degree as well) where it's a day's drive or relatively short-hop flight for a lot of players and staff. I'm also willing to bet that a fair number of players have some kind of vacation home or condo down here anyway, so the Pro-Bowl almost becomes a stop over on the way to their off-season vacation.
This all holds true for fans I might add. Planning a trip out to Hawaii is a time consuming and expensive proposition. Taking an extended weekend to drive down to Florida is much more feasible. And with Orlando, you have 3 franchises and the third most populous state in the US right outside the city limits.
I would guess that most people interested in the ProBowl itself would book closer to downtown and the stadium. WWOS is pretty far away from the stadium, so I don't imagine there would be a huge increase in pricing for hotels on Disney property.
Closer to downtown a Saturday to Sunday night stay at Embassy suites is currently $399 as opposed to $259 on a late February weekend.
I also view it as more of a local event - not sure I would fly in to see 1 or 2 people from my team only play half a game. It's kind of like ESPN The Weekend, people attended it but didn't really book vacation around it.I just booked room at Swan on Travelocity for Fri -Sunday for $140 a night. This seemed like a great deal and there were lots of other options both on and off property. I am no expert but that seems to say to me that this event isn't very successful.
I agree but the crappy thing is a few years ago I was waiting for the dates to be released to book a trip and instead the event was cancelled so we didn't take a trip that year.I also view it as more of a local event - not sure I would fly in to see 1 or 2 people from my team only play half a game. It's kind of like ESPN The Weekend, people attended it but didn't really book vacation around it.
Especially those that just lost in the playoffs.I heard the opposite - a lot of players didn't care for a long flight for a game that essentially prolonged their season.
This is absolutely correct.Whether pro bowl is a success or not with people/fans/players I can assure you 20-30 yr old millionaires are not interested in visiting Orlando. That is no slight to Orlando or the amusement parks, but those guys want to go to Vegas, exotic resorts, and yea, Hawaii.
This is absolutely correct.
For the fans, the game needs to happen after the season is over because a goos portion of players are playing in the superbowl, they would never risk injury before that.
The players don't give a hoot about Orlando... Well let me rephrase that. NFL starters who would be in the pro bowl but don't go, don't give a hoot about Orlando.
Hawaii was a destination to entice players to an exotic location. Heck I remember seeing an old Olympic soccer facility in st. Lucia on my ride from the airport. Why not switch it up to werid locations every year? I'm sure a ton of players would love to go to Dubai, hopefully some of their criminal records will keep them there.
I agree what was said about a skills competition. Those are far more entertaining than the game.
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