Auckland and Wellington will host American Football exhibition games next March involving professional players rated a tier below NFL level.
The inaugural "Southern Bowl" will comprise games at Eden Park on March 5 and Westpac Stadium a week later.
The players and coaching staff involved will be announced in August, a month after a series of trials across the United States.
Players who have missed out on the 53-man roster spots at all 32 NFL teams are likely to be selected for the games.
Christchurch-based event management company Douglas Webber Events has spent three years organising the event.
Managing director Craig Douglas expects both games to be close to sold out, with fans attracted by what he says will be a quintessential United States sports experience.
"American Football is a sport we have all heard about, but few New Zealanders have had the opportunity to see it live," Douglas said.
"Now, for the first time in the history of this passionate sporting nation, all the fun and action ingrained in American Football culture will come alive here."
He says plans are in place to take the Southern Bowl concept to other countries.
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