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Shrine Game Going To Orlando, Not Tampa

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 31, 2009

The East-West Shrine Game, an all-star college football showcase for NFL hopefuls that two weeks ago was close to finalizing a deal with Tampa, will announce Wednesday morning a move to Orlando beginning in 2010.

Orlando accepted the deal that Tampa refused – two years with a three-year option. Tampa officials were insistent on at least five years – no strings attached – because there was the possibility of a long-term agreement with a more prestigious college football all-star game, the Senior Bowl.

Tampa Sports Authority interim executive director Mickey Farrell said he met with officials from Under Armour, title sponsor of the Senior Bowl, along with representatives of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and Buccaneers earlier this month. Farrell said the Under Armour officials said the Senior Bowl was planning to leave its longtime home of Mobile, Ala., for an NFL city and planned on giving Tampa first shot at attracting the game.

The Senior Bowl, televised by the NFL Network, attracts the most promising draft-eligible players, along with a flock of NFL coaches, executives, agents and media for the week-long showcase.

The Senior Bowl's 10-year contract with Ladd-Peebles Stadium expired after its game in January, and Steve Hale, the game's executive director, recently termed the Senior Bowl as a "free-agent.'' Hale said discounting offers from another city "would not be prudent.''

Despite Farrell's statement, Hale and the Mobile Arts and Sports Association (MASA), a private business that owns the game, said no one representing Senior Bowl has ever been in contact with anyone in Tampa. Meanwhile, the City of Mobile is putting together a new stadium contract proposal for the Senior Bowl's approval.

The Shrine Game began in 1925 and developed into a Northern California tradition. It spent the past three seasons in Texas and was hoping to develop a larger following in Florida.

Part of the game's tradition includes players interacting with patients at a Shriners Hospital. The Tampa Shriners Hospital will be part of that next year – the game is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2010 on ESPN2. Shriners International headquarters has been in Tampa since 1979.

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