A lack of interest from New Zealand fans has seen the Southern Bowl American football games slated for Eden Park and Westpac Stadium in March cancelled.
Douglas Webber Events hoped to attract 80,000 fans to the two games between teams made up of professional players not signed to NFL contracts. The teams were due to be coached by legendary duo Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan, who guided NFL teams to three Super Bowl titles between them.
Plans were also in place to bring out the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and offer a full halftime show experience.
It would have been the first time American football of this level would have been played here but DWG admitted it had not resonated with the New Zealand public. They had also failed to reach agreement with an international broadcaster.
"It is not economically and administratively feasible for us to run this event and unfortunately we could not find a solution that would do the Southern Bowl justice and live up to the quality standard of event that we want to produce," DWG director Craig Douglas said.
