Super Bowl Linked to King Holiday : Referendums: NFL is prepared to move if Arizona voters reject the observance.

WASHINGTON —  The NFL is prepared to move the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix if Arizona voters fail Tuesday to approve a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the Washington Post reported today.

Voters have two referendums to choose from. If either passes, King’s birthday becomes an observed holiday in Arizona. That would leave Montana and New Hampshire as the only states that do not have such a holiday.

Should the January holiday remain unobserved in Arizona, the Post reported, the NFL would rather move the 1993 Super Bowl than deal with the sensitive issue.

Such a move would cost the Arizona economy tens of millions of dollars in tourism and other revenue.

Political analyst Joe Lane said the voters will approve a holiday in memory of the civil rights leader out of fear of losing the Super Bowl.

“People foresee empty convention halls and stores” in the days leading up to the Super Bowl if King’s birthday remains unobserved, said Lane, a former Speaker of the Arizona House.

A poll by the Arizona Republic published Thursday indicated that Arizonans favored Proposition 302, which adds a paid holiday in King’s memory, 52% to 38%.

Proposition 301, which would replace Columbus Day with a King holiday, is trailing in the poll, 74% to 18%.