Vincent Viola and his partner Douglas Cifu acquired the Florida Panthers on September 27, 2013 Vincent Viola & Doug Cifu are committed to building a competitive hockey team that perennially competes for a Stanley Cup championship. Ownership has committed over $60 million to free agents, resigned all its young players and is in the top Quartile in NHL player committed to payroll. Panthers were the most improved team in the NHL in 2014-15 (25-point gain in standings). Ownership is committed to bringing more big name acts and diverse events to the BB&T Center. Ownership has increased the presence of the Panthers in the community through a broad advertising campaign Ownership is committed to the Community; the Florida Panthers Foundation has donated more than $1.5M to the community in the past two years. Ownership has hired experienced Sports & Entertainment executives, led by Peter Luukko and has added over 50 new employees to its Sales and Marketing staff in the past two years.
The Broward County-owned BB&T Center is one of the finest buildings in the United States for hockey, concerts and shows. The building received rave reviews as host of the 2015 NHL Draft. It has consistently rated at the top of Pollstar. Broward County has the prestige of having its own major league professional sports team, the Florida Panthers. The team advertises Broward County as a premier tourist destination and sports market. The County Arena has been financed and run solely by a 2 cent bed tax paid by tourists and by the Team. Residents are not taxed whatsoever through property (ad valorem) taxes.
UPCOMING EVENTS AT BB&T CENTER 12/18: Y100 JINGLE BALL 12/19: METROPCS ORANGE BOWL BASKETBALL CLASSIC 12/31: BILLY JOEL 1/29: DEF LEPPARD WITH STYX AND TESLA 2/24: IRON MAIDEN 3/9: JANET JACKSON 3/23-3/27: DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS FROZEN
Practice Facility and Community Asset Owned by Florida Panthers Hockey Leagues (youth and adult), Skating Lessons, Figure Skating, Group Events, Parties Over 20 events annually bringing up to 2,000 participants per event plus families
Strengthen the Organization: Over 40 staff members in Ticket Sales, Marketing, and Corporate Partnerships have been hired. Invest in Hockey Talent: Florida Panthers on-ice roster is the youngest in the league poised to be strong for a long period of time. Two of the last three rookies of the year, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aaron Ekblad are Florida Panthers. Meet Achievable Revenue Goals: The Florida Panthers long-term revenue projection puts the team in the middle of the league in revenue and makes the team financially sustainable. Keep Live Nation as a Long Term Partner: The organization has signed a long-term agreement with Live Nation, the largest concert touring and promotion company in the world. With Live Nation, we have undertaken an aggressive copromotion strategy to book concerts and other events. Be Active in the Community: Since 2013, the organization has contributed over $1,500,000 supporting the community and has undertaken a very comprehensive community relations plan and program and will continue to do so.
YEAR 14-15 15-16 MARKETING SPEND $600,000 $3,000,000 2015 Draft First Round: Capacity crowd of 15,515 people Two days of 2015 Draft: Over 28,500 people through BB&T Center
92% renewal rate for Full Season Plans in bowl 3rd in the league in new Full Season Plans. 1 st : NY Islanders (new building) 2 nd : TB Lightning (went to Cup finals) Full season equivalents (43 games) Quantity 14/15 15/16 Increase % Increase FSE 5,226 7,812 +2,586 +49% RENEWAL RATE SEASON TICKET INCREASE Ticket Type 14/15 15/16 Increase % Increase Total Tickets 260,827 399,114 +138,287 +53% TOTAL TICKET SALES INCREASE
Florida Panthers Hockey Total Ad 18+ AMA (000) Carrier Date Team English French Total TSN/RDS Oct. 13 Ottawa 151.2 7.2 158.4 CSN Nov. 1 Philadelphia 52.07 0 52.07 SPORTSNET Nov. 8 Calgary 98.4 0 98.4 MSG Nov. 14 NY Islanders 43 0 43 TSN/RDS Nov. 28 Ottawa 89.6 14.6 104.2 MSG Dec. 6 Buffalo 25.42 0 25.42 CSN Dec. 16 Washington 17.23 17.23 SPORTSNET Dec. 22 Pittsburgh 238.9 80.1 319 SN/TVA Dec. 28 Toronto 571.7 59.5 631.2 SN/RDS Dec. 30 Montreal 241.1 852.7 1093.8 MSG Dec. 31 NY Rangers 109 0 109 SPORTSNET Jan. 17 Edmonton 110.3 0 110.3 SPORTSNET Jan. 19 Vancouver 372 0 372 FS-D Jan. 27 Detroit 75 0 75 SPORTSNET Feb. 26 Chicago 86.4 0 86.4 CSN Feb. 26 Chicago 79.37 0 79.37 MSG Feb. 28 Buffalo 20 0 20 TSN Mar. 3 Toronto 458.8 0 458.8 TSN Mar. 12 Winnipeg 162.6 0 162.6 SN/RDS Mar. 17 Montreal 125.6 658.2 783.8 FS-D Mar. 19 Detroit 79 5.9 84.9 NESN Mar. 21 Boston 151 0 151 SN/RDS Apr. 5 Montreal 494 1272.7 1766.7 NESN Apr. 9 Boston 160 19.4 179.4 4,012 2,970 6,982 * Does not include Tampa, Carolina, Mid-West or US West Coast broadcasts
Annual Economic Impact - $102,400,000 * Over $1.4 billion since 1998-99 season at BB&T Center Total Jobs supported 1,549 New Money brought into Broward 40% of attendees from outside County *Fishkind 2014 Study
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS-KEY PARTNERS
Strong commitment to the success of the Foundation to ensure support of the local community. Since January 2013, the Panthers Foundation has donated over $1.5M to local charities:
The following are important provisions of the proposal before the Commission: $39M is earmarked for Capital Improvements ($3M per year average) to keep the Arena in a State of the Art condition Letter of Credit Requirement up to $72M to ensure County is made whole if termination or bankruptcy Approximately 100 acres (parking lots) returned to County allows County to generate revenues from development and taxable value of new improvements * *Subject to Boyd Gaming Agreement in effect through December 31, 2015.
Development adjacent to the BB&T Center is a significant asset as has been proven in other venues throughout North America Notable existing projects Los Angeles (arena) Toronto (arena) Brooklyn (arena) Dallas (arena) Columbus (arena) Philadelphia (arena) San Diego (ballpark) St. Louis (ballpark) Boston/Foxboro (NFL stadium) Beyer Blinder Belle has conducted a massing study showing that the parking lots have significant development potential.
Historically, the arena has used 56% of the 2 cent TDT (with 5.1% actual growth rate). Over the next 13 years, this proposal results in 47% of the TDT being used for the Arena (assuming only 4% annual growth rate). TDT Allocated For Arena 45,000,000 40,000,000 35,000,000 56% of TDT Used for Arena (5.1% cagr) 47% of TDT Used for Arena (assumes 4.0% cagr) 30,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 15,000,000 TDT TDT Used For Arena 10,000,000 5,000,000 0 2027 2025 2023 2021 2019 2017 2015 2013 2011 2009 2007 2005 2003 2001 1999 1997