FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are extending their operating agreement with Broward County for five more years, ensuring that the team remains in the market through 2033 and likely well beyond.
County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the revised terms, which include the Panthers giving $51.5 million to eliminate remaining debt on the county-owned arena where the team plays. The current deal runs through 2028.
The updated terms also give the county two five-year options to extend the agreement even further. If those extensions are not picked up, the county will have to return some or all of the $51.5 million debt payment to the Panthers.
“It was important to the county to keep the Panthers in Broward County long term,” Panthers President and CEO Matthew Caldwell said. “We’re excited about it. It’s a great, great step forward for our long-term future.”
What was approved Tuesday was a term sheet. Binding documents have yet to be written, though that process is expected to be relatively smooth now that this stage has been cleared. There are concessions from both sides: The county will invest $25 million annually for capital expenditures and expenses related to the operating of Amerant Bank Arena, while the team agreed to have Broward County advertising on player helmets, to continue using local businesses as vendors whenever possible and to donate at least $11.7 million over the next nine years toward local causes and promoting youth hockey.
“Public-private partnerships have to be good for both sides, and this one is,” Caldwell said.
The team recently spent well over $65 million to refurbish the War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale, east of the team’s game-night home in Sunrise, and turn that building into the franchise’s practice facility with new retail and dining options. The exact amount of what the team spent on that project isn’t known; $65 million was the budget, and all the Panthers have conceded publicly is that their final costs were much higher.
“People are excited that we’re here for the long-term, that we’re extending,” Caldwell said.
The Panthers, including playoff games, exceeded 1 million in attendance last season for the first time in team history. The team — which struggled with poor attendance and constantly dealt with relocation rumours before the franchise turned around its fortunes — was ninth in the NHL in average regular-season attendance last season.
Michael Udine, one of the county commissioners, said from the dais at Tuesday’s meeting that “something special” has happened with the Panthers and the Broward community in recent years.
“When I went to the first hockey game in South Florida about 30 years ago and the ice was melting when you were in the stands, if you would have said in this short period of time that we’d be No. 9 in the NHL during the regular season for attendance, I think people would have thought that you were on drugs,” Udine said. “It’s a testament to what the Panther organization has done in Broward County and in South Florida.”