For Colorado resident William Carrell, the Pro Bowl is the perfect combination of two dreams: a Hawai'i vacation and professional football.

"There are millions of fans that would easily give a finger to come and be here," Carrell said yesterday during the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa, just yards from the football stars he's watched for years.

"For me a regular-season game is a dream. To come to Hawai'i is also a dream that most people never get to do. But to mix football and the Pro Bowl all in a Hawaiian trip is beyond what we could have dreamed."

Carrell, who won a trip here as the grand prize winner of the Sprint Pro Bowl Sweepstakes, is among the thousands of visitors who flocked here to attend tomorrow's sold-out Pro Bowl game. The annual event has long been a boost for Hawai'i's No. 1 industry, as the surge of tourists helps fill hotels, restaurants and stores. The Pro Bowl — televised on ESPN — also broadcasts Hawai'i's sunny weather to Mainland viewers during the winter.

Last year's NFL Pro Bowl drew 25,400 tourists for the game and pumped $39.45 million in the state's economy, according to a study commissioned by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. The NFL has signed a contract with the state to keep the game at Aloha Stadium at least through 2009, with the state paying an average of $4 million per year. The Pro Bowl has been played at Aloha Stadium every year since 1980.

Everyone associates the Pro Bowl with Hawai'i, said Carrell, who runs a recycled building supply store.

"You think palm trees," he said. "You think the Pro Bowl players; you know they're going to enjoy this because this is like a little vacation for them, too.

"This is perfect weather," he said, adding that the snow at his home in Rico, Colo. is knee-deep.

More than three-quarters of visitors at the Pro Bowl last year participated in activities here, such as golf and tennis, and visited attractions, such as Pearl Harbor, Sea Life Park and Diamond Head, according to the HTA study.

Carrell, here with his son, his girlfriend and her son and sister, plans to do some hiking and visit Pearl Harbor and the North Shore. This is their first trip to O'ahu, and they would like to visit Hawai'i again, he said.

"We're really excited," he said. "I'm going to try to venture out into the country and try to find some cool hidden places on the island, not the ones that tourists always go to."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.