Even though records show that the owners of the Panthers make a profit from arena operations, panthers are asking for more tax payer dollars to help operate the arena.
They also claim the actual hockey team loses $20-30 million a year.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,7806907.story
Quote:
Under the proposed change, for the 14-year balance of the current contract:
•The Panthers would shed the $4.5 million annual payment; it would be picked up by the county.
•The county would contribute $500,000 a year toward maintenance, and would pay any of the property insurance tab that exceeds $1 million.
•The Panthers would swap the land it has rights to build on, 12 acres south of the arena, in favor of 22 acres on the arena's north side, where the Panthers hope a casino-hotel or some other development could be built and brought onto the tax rolls.
•The Panthers would immediately repay $10.6 million in loans the county granted them in recent years.
•The Panthers would continue contributing $500,000 a year to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
•The Panthers would commit to investing in hockey team payroll "at a level competitive with the rest of the National Hockey League.''
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The last point is hilarious as it implies the Panthers promise to ice a competitive team only if the county agrees to new terms.