Between South Florida’s calm coastlines and the steamy, lush green Everglades, the Florida Panthers are one win away from the franchise’s first Stanley Cup while scoring economic goals along the way.
"It's cliché, but sports are transcendent," Panthers COO Bryce Hollweg told Fox News Digital one day before the team’s travels to rival town Edmonton.
"And to bring a championship trophy to Broward County, which has never seen a championship trophy because we're the only team here, we've come close," he added, "I think it would be even more something that the community is going to rally around and really remember for the rest of their lives."
Holding a 3-0 series lead, the Panthers face off against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals Saturday night, looking to bring home their first title to Sunrise, Florida, less than 20 miles northwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Both the sports organization and city leaders are expecting a multi-million dollar impact on the economy during the Stanley Cup finals alone. Earlier this week, the South Florida Business Journal estimated that $11 million was generated from the first two games.
While Hollweg couldn’t disclose exact monetary figures, he noted that the hockey club has seen significant growth and success in almost all operations since he joined in 2021.
"Our attendance is up 25%. Our ticket sales revenue is up 50% over the past few years," the COO said. "Getting into the investment and public private partnership that we endeavored with the city of Fort Lauderdale [and] close to $100 million of private investment by the Viola family has also helped this macroeconomic development of growing the game in South Florida. We've seen almost 15% growth in youth hockey over the past year."
"[The] fan experience and making sure people are having an amazing time when they're here is a huge priority for us," Hollweg continued. "So we upgraded our sound system, we upgraded our sport lighting, we've added more food and beverage options and hospitality areas, and really getting people here, getting them to stay here and, most importantly, getting them to come back."
According to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the Panthers have created at least an $110 million impact on the local economy over the last two seasons. Hotels are reportedly seeing double-digit increases in occupancy during the finals.
Their fanbase has grown considerably as well, with a report from Betway analyzing social media data finding that the Panthers had the fastest growing fanbase in 2023 across the entire NHL.
"Last year, the Panthers surprised everyone. They were a young, scrappy and hungry team," DDA CEO Jenni Morejon also told Digital. "Now that they are back in the Stanley Cup Final, they have the experience needed to bring the Cup back home to the State of Florida. Like the team, Panthers fans and our community are passionate, confident, committed and ready to get the job done."
The city said the Panthers have become a "perfect partner" for fostering development opportunities, helping to contribute to $350 million in investments thus far in new and reimagined public spaces.
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"It's amazing to see the community rallying behind us and the team, and seeing the banners around town on the streets, and flags [at] restaurants… the hospitality industry in Fort Lauderdale, in South Florida, within one degree of separation, everyone kind of knows each other. So I get a lot of stories and feedback back to me of how all of them are playing the game… driving business to their restaurants, all while providing support for the team," Hollweg said.
Hollweg repeatedly gave credit to team management for carefully crafting and adding key pieces to their roster, known to be a delicate budget balancing act in the sport.
"These things are not easy and you're restricted to a certain salary cap, but I think that the term our group, and Bill [Zito] and Matt [Caldwell] and Vinny [Viola], put out there is ‘destination franchise,’" the CEO pointed out, "and getting those players to commit here and want to stay here, and want to build and keep building upon that."
With rising demand and popularity comes lower supply and higher prices – something Hollweg acknowledged. In the team’s early days, season tickets cost $5 per game and included free parking.
The COO responded to concerns that long-time fans may get priced out next season amid sticky inflation impacting everyday costs, from food, gas and rent: "Those [$5] days are gone… We're almost averaging 19,000 a game. This year, I think [we had] somewhere around 27 sellouts… We're in a really good spot… putting something on the ice that the fans want to see and excites them."
"There's definitely some post-COVID stresses on those extra dollars that people can spend on leisure and luxury... I have felt that struggle," he added. "What I will tell you is that we're putting an amazing product on the ice. We have one of the best teams in the league. And we demonstrated that over the past few years here, and we still have below-average ticket pricing. So our benefits from playoff pricing and overall pricing is still affordable compared to the rest of the league and the rest of the market."
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After winning their first Stanley Cup Final away game and leading the series 3-0, the Panthers enter enemy territory in full force Saturday with the hopes of bringing home a championship win to a community that has yet to experience one.
"We are a community partner, and that's not lip service," Hollweg said. "Whatever the outcome is, we're here for the community. We're here to bring enrichment to people's lives. And we're here to bring people together."
