The public land surrounding the NHL Panthers' BB&T Center is a "clean slate," and in the coming 20 years, Broward County "intends to fill in the grassy blanks with Downtown West, a mix that could include condos, stores, restaurants, offices, maybe even a casino," according to Brittany Wallman of the South Florida SUN-SENTINEL. Consultants with the nonprofit Urban Land Institute said that visitors to BB&T Center leave after Panthers games or shows "because there's nothing there to capture them." Broward County Commissioner Nan Rich said that the undertaking is "huge and could be controversial." Wallman noted the mix of development -- including whether casino rights are obtained and whether the Panthers remain at the arena -- "will be determined in the coming years." Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan said that the arena "never was expected to stand alone," as it has since its '98 construction. The land for years "was in the hands" of the Panthers' owners, who "never used it." However, in a reworked agreement in December '15, the county "won back development rights to the land surrounding the arena" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 2/13).
