Panthers-Amerant Bank put flesh on partnership

Article posted by Coliseum, September 28^th, 2023

Image: Amerant Bank

The National Hockey League (NHL) team Florida Panthers and Amerant Bank, the largest community bank headquartered in Florida, jointly announced recently that the new home for Panthers hockey and premier entertainment in Broward County will be the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida (US).

The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The Amerant Bank Arena serves as their home pitch.

The 20,000-capacity Amerant Bank Arena is an indoor arena located next to the Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida). It is the home venue for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was completed in 1998 at a cost of US$185 million, almost entirely publicly-financed, and features 70 suites and 2,623 club seats.

Apply for membership

The Amerant Bank, N.A., is the largest community bank headquartered in Florida (US) and the main subsidiary of Amerant Bancorp Inc., with a presence across South Florida and in Tampa, Florida and Houston, Texas. The bank has been serving clients for over 40 years and comprises subsidiaries Amerant Investments and Amerant Mortgage. Rooted in the communities it serves, Amerant supports numerous nonprofit and community organizations. In 2023, the company was certified as a Most Loved Workplace® by the Best Practice Institute.

‘Amerant Bank’ quoted the Panthers President and head honcho Matt Caldwell as stating, “After a comprehensive search with WME Sports over the past year, we felt expanding our experienced and successful partnership with the Amerant Bank would be the best business decision to align with both our goals of delivering first-class customer service and serving our local South Florida community. We are grateful to Jerry Plush (Amerant Bank head honcho) and the entire Amerant Bank leadership for their investment and shared commitment to South Florida and to the Florida Panthers, as well as the Governments of Broward County and the City of Sunrise who worked with us to ensure a premier partnership.”

Both the Panthers and Amerant Bank, as the community bank of Broward, Miami Dade and Palm Beach counties, are committed to working together to give back to South Florida. The Amerant Bank currently has four Broward County (County in Florida) branches with another opening soon in Downtown Fort Lauderdale (City in Florida), an operations center in Miramar and recently announced a Broward County Regional Headquarters in Plantation (City in Florida).

‘Amerant Bank’ stated that the Amerant Bank will continue their entitlement of the premium center-ice seating area ‘Amerant Vault’ and remain a supporting partner of the Panthers Kids Club and youth hockey initiatives.

Last season, the Panthers and the Amerant Bank partnered for the inaugural ‘Saves for Vets’ campaign to donate $40 per save made by a Panthers goaltender throughout the 2022-2023 regular and postseason. With over 3,011 saves by Panthers goaltenders, $120,440 will be split and donated to nine veteran-focused nonprofit organizations including the Broward County Community Development Corporation, Chariots On Ice Sled Hockey, DELIVER THE DREAM INC, Faith-Hope-Love-Charities, Inc., Heart2Heart Outreach of South Florida, Our Father’s House Soup Kitchen Inc., Rebuilding Together Broward County, Inc, Soldiers’ Angels, and The 22 Project, Inc. within the South Florida area.

Observed Jerry Plush, Amerant Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), “Adding naming rights to the arena to the already strong and extensive partnership we have with the Panthers just seemed like the next logical next step for us. In addition to showing our support and alignment with Matt Caldwell and the Panthers organization, we are also excited to step up our commitment to the people and businesses in Broward County. We aim to be the bank of choice in the markets we serve and believe this is another big step we are taking to demonstrate that commitment.”

The Panthers and Amerant Bank partnership began in October 2021 when they became the first-ever official home helmet partner for the 2021-2022 seasons. The following season Amerant expanded their investment in the organization by becoming the home and away helmet partner for the 2022-2023 seasons, the ‘Official Bank of the Florida Panthers’ and entitling the arena’s premium club area to the Amerant Vault.

The Amerant Bank Arena is the home of Florida Panthers hockey, concert headliners including Elton John (British singer and pianist), Harry Styles (English singer and actor), Billboard Latin Music Awards, Luke Combs (American singer-songwriter), and Aerosmith (American rock band), as well as family events such as Monster Jam, Disney on Ice, Ringling Bros, and more. Additionally, the venue has played host to the 2001 and 2015 National Hockey League Drafts and the 2003 and 2023 NHL All-Star Game.

New York City (US)-based the National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams – 25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.

The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically selects the rights to available ice hockey players who meet Draft eligibility requirements (North American players 18-20 years old and European/international players 18-21 years old, all others enter the league as unrestricted free agents). The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous regular season. During the Draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior or collegiate leagues and professional players from the European leagues.

The National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey tournament that is traditionally held during the regular season of the NHL, with many of the league’s star players playing against each other.

The Amerant Bank Arena also hosts corporate functions, charity events, youth hockey games, seminars, and much more for the South Florida community.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue