Panthers extend lease; staying 19+ years

[LadyStanley]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1836073572475023841

Click to read more...

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Oh what a shocker. What we said would happen if they had sustained success, happened. Higher attendance, fanbase grows. No danger of relocation.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Interesting. I have said for years and years that the Panthers should be near the top of the list for relocation candidates precisely because their lease was expiring fairly soon (2028). So obviously with an extension they should clearly be moved down the list.

But it's a curious deal they reached. Not curious in a "aha - they really are going to move anyways" kind of way, just regular curious.

1. The lease is only extended by 5 years right off the bat - to 2033.
2. The lease can be extended for up to two five year periods - at the sole discretion of the County (not the Panthers) so up to a total of 2043.
3. Panthers pay Broward County $51 million to clear off any remaining debt from construction.
4. Panthers receive development rights around the arena - for a period of four years. Any development would need to be approved by the County.

It sort of feels like the Panthers are giving up a lot - their stay in Broward is not up to them, and their development rights are all contingent (although surely the County would like to see what is now a parking lot developed into something ore productive).

But I am open to other interpretations.

 

[Major4Boarding]

3. Panthers pay Broward County $51 million to clear off any remaining debt from construction.

Huge

II. Florida Panthers Commitment

A. Florida Panthers agree to pay County $51.5 million within 30 days of an executed final agreement.

• If the County does not exercise its first option to extend the agreement, County to repay $34.4M of the amount paid by the Panthers.
• If the County does not exercise its second option to extend the agreement, County to repay $17.2M of the amount paid by Panthers.
• These repayment terms apply to current ownership group and will not apply if there is a change of control.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Huge

Very interesting. Thanks for the link.

So basically - Panthers pay $17 mil for a five year extension. At the option of Broward County, the Panthers can be extended for two five year periods, at a cost of $17 mil from the Panthers to Broward for each extension. Then as mentioned, the Panthers have development rights to the parking lot for the next five years (subject to Broward County's approval).

So this is where I think I got the situation all wrong. I would've thought that the Panthers had all the leverage here - they could move in four years, so they'd try to extract as many concessions from Broward County as they could. I've heard numerous times that the Panthers arena is not in a desirable location. Instead it seems like the Panthers are quite eager to stay, to the tune of up to $51 million.

[reads further]

Actually - I take that back. Under the agreement Broward County is paying $25 mil per year to the Panthers (reduced to $20 mil per year in the second extension). That is obviously very favourable to the Panthers! That seems to just be a continuation of the existing lease terms though. So that adds up to much more than the $51 mil the Panthers are paying back. So I can now understand why the Panthers are more eager to stay.

 

[NextBigThing]

Quebec will be keeping a very close eye on this.

 

[joelef]

Quebec fans are going to hate this

 

[TheLegend]

Very interesting. Thanks for the link.

So basically - Panthers pay $17 mil for a five year extension. At the option of Broward County, the Panthers can be extended for two five year periods, at a cost of $17 mil from the Panthers to Broward for each extension. Then as mentioned, the Panthers have development rights to the parking lot for the next five years (subject to Broward County's approval).

So this is where I think I got the situation all wrong. I would've thought that the Panthers had all the leverage here - they could move in four years, so they'd try to extract as many concessions from Broward County as they could. I've heard numerous times that the Panthers arena is not in a desirable location. Instead it seems like the Panthers are quite eager to stay, to the tune of up to $51 million.

[reads further]

Actually - I take that back. Under the agreement Broward County is paying $25 mil per year to the Panthers (reduced to $20 mil per year in the second extension). That is obviously very favourable to the Panthers! That seems to just be a continuation of the existing lease terms though. So that adds up to much more than the $51 mil the Panthers are paying back. So I can now understand why the Panthers are more eager to stay.

Didn't the current lease have a massive breakup price??? Best I can remember from past threads it was something like $22-25 million for an early exit.

 

[Major4Boarding]

Didn't the current lease have a massive breakup price??? Best I can remember from past threads it was something like $22-25 million for an early exit.

It was massive up until this year. Each year on (from now), it got less and less - in huge chunks. This was earmarked as the "Season-to-Watch" in regard to invoking their out clause - if it was ever coming to that.

 

[Salsero1]

Quebec will be keeping a very close eye on this.

Not like they have anything else to do

 

[aqib]

Didn't the current lease have a massive breakup price??? Best I can remember from past threads it was something like $22-25 million for an early exit.

That's not really massive in the context of NHL team values these days. They basically had to pay back what the county gave the panthers in the last lease redo.