The Pro Bowl is coming back to Hawaii in 2011, provided, of course, there actually is a Pro Bowl that year.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann says it's a great idea. Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona and the Hawaii Tourism Authority can't wait to fork over $4 million, and change, to the NFL each year. And the league will gladly take it, as long as our supposedly substandard stadium is brought more into line with what the NFL considers acceptable.

The question I want answered is: do we really need the Pro Bowl? Or further: do we need the NFL to tell us what to do with our public facilities for the "privilege" of hosting the game?

Maybe it's time to take care of the coming rail transit project and the stadium's originally-intended primary tenant in a single swoop. NFL be damned.

As long as we're spending $5 billion or more on rail transit, why not put a nice, modern stadium - say 40,000 seats with amenities - either in Kapolei, where the rail line will begin, or downtown, on the waterfront, where most people will get off on their way to work?

Make it the heart of a rail station. Build plenty of parking around it so people can drive to get on the train in Kapolei or for downtown drivers to use during the week. On Saturdays, there will be plenty of parking for the Warriors and their tailgating faithful. Sorry, no swap-meet on game days.

In Kapolei, commuters coming to town would get a secure place to park and might actually use the train. I guarantee they aren't going to be too happy with a morning routine of get on TheBus, get off TheBus, wait for TheTrain, get on TheTrain, get off TheTrain and go to work (maybe catching another bus to boot). Mufi, that ain't happening - not in your lifetime.

By making a new stadium the focal point of a rail station, the University of Hawaii gets a quality facility that should last a generation; one it can use to make money staging other ventures. Concerts, anyone? Soccer? NFL preseason games? Major League Baseball?

Don't get me wrong: I like the Pro Bowl. I've been to several. It's a great show.

But our own citizens, and our own football team, should come well before the NFL.