The NHL Panthers yesterday "won one of the most important contests" in the club's existence when the Broward County (Fla.) Commission voted 5-3 to give the team $86M in public funds via tourist taxes, according to a front-page piece by Brittany Wallman of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. County officials confirmed that the agreement "increases the public investment in the team" to $342M. Panthers Vice Chair & Partner Doug Cifu said, "What the county did today was really double their commitment to the BB&T Center and enable us to put a professional product on the ice and also bring world-class entertainment to Broward County.'' A majority of commissioners indicated that they were "swayed by an analysis that showed the team was bleeding millions, and that if it were to declare bankruptcy or leave, the county could be on the hook for even more" than $86M. But Wallman reports while public input about giving the Panthers more taxpayer money was "largely negative over the past few years," a "majority of speakers" yesterday from the business community supported it. The Panthers' losses "have grown in the last several years" -- a county report shows the Panthers lost $36M last year and $27M the year before. Under the new proposal, the club would be required to spend $1.5M "drawing a 'high impact event,'" as well as $39M on capital improvements and $45.5M on operating costs. None of the $86M "would go toward the hockey team side of the business" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 12/9). Cifu during last night's Senators-Panthers game said, "We made a bunch of commitments two years ago when we bought this team. We’ve fulfilled those commitments, and the county really came through for us in a big way today.” He added, "The original construction of the arena and the team deal really didn’t make a lot of sense, so we went there and we just said, ‘Listen, we just want to rework this deal.’ The money is coming into the building, it’s not going to the Panthers. It’s really to fund the capital projects for this wonderful building and to fund the operating expenses of managing a big building of this type” ("Senators-Panthers," FS Florida, 12/8).
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: In Miami, George Richards notes yesterday's meeting was "highly watched by officials around the league and in cities where they hoped the deal would fall through and the Panthers would become relocation candidates." Both Las Vegas and Quebec City have applied for expansion teams, with Seattle and K.C. "also expressing interest." Broward County Mayor Martin Kiar joked, "This is the first county commission meeting where half of Canada is watching." Cifu said, “We have no intention of moving this team, we never want to move. We want to be here. I don’t speak French and I don’t want to go to Seattle or Kansas City or anywhere. We want to be in Broward County. We’re trying to build the right culture here.” Panthers Exec Chair Peter Luukko added, "This gives us the opportunity to continue to provide a first-class facility to our fans, bring more big events to town. More importantly, it gives us the financial stability to improve our team and be better on the ice. It gives us the ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel and be able to invest in the team and in the building" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/9).
