Every year, one or two media reports try to persuade their readers that the Florida Panthers are leaving South Florida for a more profitable and notable city, such as Quebec or Seattle. And why not? Both cities are locations that the National Hockey League have looked at extensively for potential teams to land through either expansion or, if necessary, relocation. The league has stated for years that they have no plans to relocate the Panthers or any other team. In fact, Gary Bettman recently came out and stated a few months ago that with a new ownership group finally in place, the Florida Panthers are not leaving South Florida anytime soon.

Even though the commissioner of the league had make a statement about this situation, it is no surprise that the team and the BB&T Center have lost tremendous amounts of money for years, most notably for much of the last decade. That fact alone will fire up the rumor mill from various media sources beyond the nation’s border. Recently, it came out that Broward County has hired a consultant to examine the Panther's request for public funds to help pay off some of the team's debt, which has reportedly amounted to $80 million. That report alone started up numerous reports from different newspaper outlets, bending the report's details to make it look like the Panthers want out of South Florida. Getting tired of all of the false rumors being written about their team, new co-owners Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu posted a personal letter to Panthers fans on the team’s website:

“As we close in on the one-year anniversary of our ownership of the Florida Panthers, we want to reiterate our commitment to Broward County, South Florida and our Panthers fans and business partners. As we said at the press conference when we bought the team, we view ourselves as stewards of the team for the community and our plan is to build an organization that makes South Florida proud and to win the Stanley Cup in South Florida. Despite media speculation to the contrary, we have no plans or intentions to move this franchise.

We made a commitment to the Panthers and to South Florida when we bought the team to build a successful organization on and off the ice. We have been working hard to live up to that commitment. Starting with the trade to bring Roberto Luongo, one of the world’s top goaltenders, back home to South Florida, and continuing with our committing over $80 million to new players, including bringing six talented veteran costless agents to South Florida and re-signing all of our restricted costless agents, we have dedicated ourselves to improving the team. Off the ice, we continue to expand our community outreach initiatives and look forward to continue to contribute to the quality of life for residents.

It is no secret that the Panthers and BB&T Center have lost tremendous amounts of money over the last dozen years. We are working hard to address this situation, which we believe we can do with the support from our loyal fans, our business partners, the business community and our community-at-large.

We look forward to a winning season and bringing a Stanley Cup to South Florida.

With Warm Regards,

Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu, Co-Owners” [Source: FloridaPanthers.com]

As Viola stated throughout his letter, the Panthers are not moving anytime soon, as ownership has fully committed themselves to winning a Stanley Cup in South Florida. And they have proved their desire to over the past year that they have owned the team. From trading for star goalie Roberto Luongo, investing over $80 million in their players, bringing in six unrestricted costless agents, and signing all of their own restricted costless agents, Viola and Cifu have shown their commitment to the franchise not only through their mouths, but through their actions, something that none of the Panther’s past owners have shown over the team’s twenty years of existence.

As Panthers fans await the upcoming NHL season that is just twenty-two days away, the South Florida community finally have reasons to cheer for the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are a young team with solid management and great owners. Plus, Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu’s contributions to the franchise will help the team become successful on and off the ice, with the franchise now firmly rooted in Sunrise for the months and years to come.

Thank you, Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu.