As Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov skated across the ice with the Stanley Cup — it marked a dramatic turning level for a long-suffering franchise and fan base.
However the true turning level occurred 11 years in the past just a few months after Barkov was drafted — when Virtu Monetary founder Vinnie Viola acquired the crew for $250 million.
“The crew had struggled with attendance, definitely a scarcity of profitable,” Florida Panthers President and CEO Matt Caldwell advised CNBC’s “Final Name” on Friday. “Vinnie … was dedicated from day one to investing within the crew.”
Upon buying the last-place Panthers, Viola made his intensions clear at his first official crew press convention in 2013.
“My household and I are honored to take the helm of the Florida Panthers group with the No. 1 objective of placing a profitable crew on the ice yr after yr and bringing a Stanley Cup to our unimaginable followers right here in South Florida,” Viola mentioned.
Matthew Tkachuk #19 of the Florida Panthers and Florida Panthers proprietor Vincent Viola have a good time after Florida’s 2-1 victory in Recreation Seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Closing at Amerant Financial institution Area on June 24, 2024 in Dawn, Florida.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Photos Sport | Getty Photos
After greater than a half-decade of inconsistent efficiency on the ice, a tonal shift for the franchise occurred in September 2020, when former participant agent Invoice Zito was employed because the Panthers’ new basic supervisor.
Gutsy strikes by Zito — like bringing in tenacious ahead Matthew Tkachuk in a blockbuster commerce with the Calgary Flames — proved to be essential constructing blocks for the crew.
“He is completely reshaped our hockey operations,” Caldwell mentioned. “We have had a whole lot of consistency the final couple years. To be in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals has been a dream.”
The South Florida market has taken discover of the Panthers’ on-ice success — and that is translated into spectacular income progress.
Because the 2021-22 season, attendance has jumped 25.7%, ticket income has spiked 50%, and company sponsorship income has skyrocketed a staggering 123.8%, in keeping with the crew.
“It has been a protracted grind,” Caldwell mentioned. “I feel we all the time had religion and Vinnie has been super in main the cost and setting a imaginative and prescient.”