- 1993
- 1998
- 2013
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Florida Panthers Team Formation
Blockbuster Video magnate Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for Miami on December 10, 1992, the same day The Walt Disney Company earned the right to start a team in Anaheim. The entry fee was $50 million, but despite fellow Florida team Tampa Bay Lightning starting to play the year before, the league did not consider to be any ... -
National Car Rental Center Opens
In 1992, Wayne Huizenga obtained a new NHL franchise that would eventually become the Florida Panthers. Until the team had an arena of their own, they initially played at the now-demolished Miami Arena, sharing the venue with the NBA’s Miami Heat. Sunrise City Manager Pat Salerno made public a $167-million financing and construction plan for a civic center near the ... -
Sunrise Sports & Entertainment
Despite media reports saying Vincent Viola paid between $230 million and $250 million for the Panthers, operating rights to the BB&T Center and other Sunrise Sports & Entertainment entities in 2013, the West Point graduate actually paid an enterprise value of closer to $160 million. With the Panthers hampered by low attendance, Viola and his partner, Doug Cifu, have said ...
History of the Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was founded in 1993 as an expansion team. They play home games at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida; the Panthers are the southernmost team in the NHL. The team made one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, in 1996; they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in four games.
Established
1993
City
Miami
League History
1993 – Present / National Hockey League
Team History
1993 – Present / Florida Panthers
Nickname
Panthers – Had Tampa Bay been awarded a baseball team in the early ’90s, they likely would’ve been called the Florida Panthers, a reference to the endangered species of the same name. Instead, the nickname was adopted by Florida’s second NHL team. Franchise owner, and Blockbuster Video owner, Wayne Huizenaga picked the name because he wanted to draw attention to the Panther, as the native wildcat of Florida was endangered at the time. When Panthers president Bill Torrey revealed the nickname, he told reporters: “A panther, for your information, is the quickest striking of all cats. Hopefully, that’s how we will be on the ice.”
Championship
Stanley Cup 0
Arena
2013 – Present / BB&T Cente
2005 – 2012 / BankAtlantic Center
2002 – 2005 / Office Depot Center
1998 – 2002 / National Car Rental Center
1998 / Broward County Civic Arena
1993 – 1998 / Miami Arena
Owner
2009 – Present / Sunrise Sports & Entertainment
2001 – 2009 / Alan Cohen and Bernie Kosar
1993 – 2001 / Wayne Huizenga
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
1 / Roberto Luongo
37 / Wayne Huizenga
93 / Bill Torrey
99 / Wayne Gretzky
*Blue is this team’s history