The NFL has announced the 2021 Pro Bowl will take place in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, the brand-new home of the brand-new Las Vegas Raiders.
This ends the NFL’s four-year run of Pro Bowls in Orlando.
The game will be held Jan. 31, one week before the Super Bowl, which will is scheduled to be held in Tampa, if the NFL season can take place around coronavirus concerns.
Orlando was blessed with intriguing games, rosters and matchups during the four years here, but not blessed with great weather or circumstances. The first three games were played on rainy days, or in the rain, and this year’s game took place just hours after the helicopter crash that took the lives of NBA star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and 10 other passengers.
“We look forward to partnering with the Raiders and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to bring the excitement of Pro Bowl week to our Las Vegas fans and community for the first time,” Peter O’Reilly, NFL EVP of club business and league events, said in a statement on NFL.com. “We thank the city of Orlando for its outstanding partnership in helping us to grow and evolve the Pro Bowl over the last four years. To our partners at Florida Citrus Sports, Camping World Stadium, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and Visit Orlando, we appreciate your tremendous efforts over the years and look forward to creating more memorable moments together in the future.”
Central Florida, including Orlando and Osceola County, felt the influence of the NFL each year at Pro Bowl time. The league made investments in the community and made the Pro Bowl Experience at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, a “fan’s festival of football”, a centerpiece of it, inviting fans to watch practices, get player autographs and participate in interactive football activities. The league is planning much the same in the tourism mecca of the West, Las Vegas.
