Eberhart Group Withdraws Its Bid for NFL Franchise

An investment group withdrew from consideration to put one of the planned NFL expansion franchises in Hawaii before Tuesday’s deadline to post a $100,000 application fee, according to a published report.

The five-member group, led by Irvine real estate investor Christopher Eberhart, did not put forward the money to meet the deadline, Honolulu attorney Randall Yee was quoted as saying in the Honolulu Advertiser.

“From what I understand, Chris did not get his investors together,” Yee said. He added that Eberhart made the decision, and likely would make a formal announcement by today.

Eberhart is acquisitions director for the Trillion Group, based in Irvine. His group also included Honolulu lawyer Richard Frunzi, Maui real estate agent Tom Iwado and Trillion finance director Dan Rivetti.

Last month, Honolulu was one of 11 cities bidding for the two NFL expansion teams, which would begin play in 1994.

The other cities that submitted applications in September were Baltimore, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Jacksonville, Memphis, Nashville, Oakland, Sacramento, St. Louis and San Antonio.