The NHL Panthers are "rewriting their request for public funds" to operate BB&T Center after a majority of Broward County Commissioners "said they wouldn't support an $80 million bailout that they said offers the public little in return," according to Brittany Wallman of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. Broward County officials on Thursday said that they are "still waiting for a new proposal from the Panthers, which they had expected to have by now." The delay means a County Commission vote on the "controversial deal may not come until fall." The county had "hoped to make a final decision in mid-May." Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said, "We wasted all this time. There's no movement, no nothing.'' Wallman writes the Panthers face "a tough road getting a five-vote majority on a deal to repair their finances." County commissioners have "rejected -- though without a formal vote -- the team's initial request for a bailout package" worth at least $80M in taxes levied on hotel guests. Commissioners said that the vote will "rest on whether the team sweetens the pot for taxpayers." At least four commissioners said that their vote "is dependent on the Panthers offering a better profit-sharing arrangement" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 4/4).
