Despite much grumbling, the NFL is sticking with its revamped Pro Bowl schedule for at least another year.
The league announced yesterday that next season’s all-star game will again be held the week before the Super Bowl, continuing a controversial experiment that began this year.
However, the Pro Bowl is moving back to its longtime home of Aloha Stadium in Honolulu after being played most recently in Miami — the site of last season’s Super Bowl.
The Pro Bowl for the 2010 season will be held Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011, at 7 p.m. It will be televised by FOX.
The league said in a statement that the game will remain the week before the Super Bowl because this past season’s ESPN-televised game drew its largest TV audience since 2000. The Pro Bowl also drew its largest in-stadium crowd (70,697) in 50 years.
The NFL Players Association was told of the plan during a meeting with the league last week in Indianapolis but had no say-so.
A union spokesman expressed disappointment yesterday that the NFLPA’s board was not allowed to vote on the matter, citing widespread player disgruntlement with the new timing of the game.


