Florida Panthers and Quebec: French article need translating
- Thread starter Jonas1235
- Start date
frontsfan2005
Registered User
Using Google Translator:
(Quebec) The imminent transfer of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg does not bode well for other teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) battling with large deficits. A situation that could possibly smile at Quebec.
In Florida, the future (longer term) of the Panthers in Sunrise is far from assured. The team acquired in 2009 by businessman Cliff Viner still fails to break even.
Over the past two seasons, the Panthers have swallowed a lot of money. We're talking at least $ 20 million despite average attendance for games at the team of approximately 15 685 spectators (23rd out of the League).
Lack of income team has also precipitated a (another) fire sale this spring. No less than seven veteran players (Dennis Wideman, Bryan Allen, Chris Higgins, Bryan McCabe, Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak and Michael Frolik) were traded before the deadline for the Panthers, a matter of saving millions of dollars on the list pay.
Mod: The rest of the article: http://translate.google.com/transla...-plus-populaires-le-soleil_section_ECRAN1POS2
(Quebec) The imminent transfer of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg does not bode well for other teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) battling with large deficits. A situation that could possibly smile at Quebec.
In Florida, the future (longer term) of the Panthers in Sunrise is far from assured. The team acquired in 2009 by businessman Cliff Viner still fails to break even.
Over the past two seasons, the Panthers have swallowed a lot of money. We're talking at least $ 20 million despite average attendance for games at the team of approximately 15 685 spectators (23rd out of the League).
Lack of income team has also precipitated a (another) fire sale this spring. No less than seven veteran players (Dennis Wideman, Bryan Allen, Chris Higgins, Bryan McCabe, Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak and Michael Frolik) were traded before the deadline for the Panthers, a matter of saving millions of dollars on the list pay.
Mod: The rest of the article: http://translate.google.com/transla...-plus-populaires-le-soleil_section_ECRAN1POS2
Last edited by a moderator:
pb1300
#CatsAreComing
Broward County will not let the Panthers leave. The Panthers still have 20 years left on the lease, and even though they are losing money on the hockey side, Sunrise Sports and Entertainment still makes money from the events at the arena. The fan base, which could seem pathetic to northerners, is there, and feel very strongly for the team. The problem in Sunrise over the years has strictly been the on ice product, nothing else. We dont have the issues that Atlanta and Phoenix have, and once Tallon starts getting a winner on the ice, you wont see serious issues with this team.
IceAce
Strait Trippin'
No U.S. based team with a 12 year playoff drought is going to draw well. People wont support a perpetual loser. When the Cats were competitive attendance was never an issue. One of the loudest games I ever went to in my life was the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals vs. Pittsburgh at Miami Arena. Place was insane.
Buck Aki Berg
Done with this place
pb1300
#CatsAreComing
You are right, no team will draw well after missing the playoffs for as long as the Panthers have. But, the Panthers still have fans, and even though a lot of tickets are given away, they still drawer relatively well. If Tallon can get this team on the right track, there wont be a reason to give away tickets anymore.
Fidel Astro
Registered User
Too lazy to translate the whole thing, but here's some of the basic points:
-In Florida, the long-term future of the Panthers is far from being assured.
-Over each of the last couple of seasons the team has lost at least $20 million, and their attendance ranks 23rd in the league.
-At least seven veteran players were traded before the deadline, presumably to save money. The Panthers don't seem to be rebuilding, as they've only spent $17 million toward the salary cap.
-The Miami Sun Sential ran a column on Monday asking how long it will be until the league has to intervene with this team like it did in Phoenix.
-Last year, the Panthers received financial aid to reduce the payments on the team's debt by $7.5 million. The team will have to repay that $7.5 million with interest between 2013 and 2015.
-A sports marketing prof at the University of Laval is suggesting that within three to five years, a number of other teams will be susceptible to relocation. Thrashers and Coyotes are obviously the priority, but the Panthers, Islanders, Blue Jackets and possibly even the Stars could be at risk.
-It's a dream situation for Quebec, who want the Nordiques to return.
-Recap of Phoenix situation. Talk about how Phoenix is not a natural hockey market, and no logical businessman is going to want to lose tens of millions a year. Perhaps Coyotes could come to Quebec if no owner is found at the end of next season.
-Blue Jackets are in equally concerning situation, losing $25 million last year and drawing the fourth-worst attendance in the NHL. Quebec fans should pay attention to what's happening down there.
-Suggestion that if some of these teams don't move, they could end up being straight-up removed from the league (contraction?)
-What about KC, Vegas, Seattle, etc.? Prof says there are a limited number of cities that can have long-term viability as hockey markets. After Winnipeg and QC, that list is pretty short.
IceAce
Strait Trippin'
But everything is going to be just fine. Panthers hockey: too big to fail. Hail Dale.
Nothing to see here. This article is pure speculation and nothing more. There is no substance behind it, there aren't any new numbers. It's just the basic gloom and doom "the NHL is failing in the many markets" mixed with the "Quebec deserves a team".
Dread Clawz
LAWSonic Boom
Agreed. This is nothing more than trying to get fans in Quebec riled up and this guy trying to get more readers. The article by Fialkov was already addressed on the Panthers board. It's very poorly constructed.
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=914758
Fialkov doesn't have the best rep in South Florida. George Richards is the Panthers beat writer you want to listen to. Fialkov is a joke and much worse than Gorten was, the previous Sun-Sentinel writer.
Kimota
ROY DU NORD!!!
worstfaceoffmanever
These Snacks Are Odd
That number is tickets distributed, not tickets paid for, and certainly not tickets used (which is the typical metric in many places).
Frankly, though, if SSE is making a net profit with its other events (as was posted previously) and the lease with Broward Co. is too tough to break (which is well-established), they will likely just wait it out to see if Tallon can make this into a competitive team and whether or not that has a major influence on spectator numbers. If things don't change by 2030, though, then they'll start looking for buyers in other markets.
Dread Clawz
LAWSonic Boom
jol
Registered User
What are the terms of lease and how much is penalty leaving earlier? I could see easily SSE and county making a deal to sell Panthers somewhere (if NHL allows that), county getting a cut. After that SSE can run arena and have concerts and whatever.
When Viner and Siegel became managing partners, they admitted that whole SSE was in red and now there's only one managing partner, Viner. Anyways, if owners are willing to cover losses then there shouldn't be any problems.
JOL
They don't have the ownership issues that the Yotes and Thrashers have. So if their owner is content, then its a non-issue. They have gone a heck of a long time without being in the playoffs, and in that time have only had one year where they've even been competing for a playoff spot. At least if they are playing meaningful games down the stretch there is a chance to generate some excitement, but they haven't.
The Panthers aren't going anywhere.
The Panthers aren't going anywhere.
peter sullivan
Winnipeg
- Apr 9, 2010
- 2,356
- 4
flash back 2 weeks ago in the thrashers thread to see this same quote numerous times.
i was wondering how long it would take for quebec and florida to start their sexy dance.....didnt take long at all.
HockeyRulez
Panthers hockey since 1993
I don't know, that whole transfer from Cohen to Viner/Siegel to just Viner always seemed murky and weird.
Dread Clawz
LAWSonic Boom
Whoever is general partner really doesn't matter. You can hold majority stakes and still not be general partner. Siegel was pushed out because Viner wanted his name on the brand. I'm assuming Siegel got paid for it, doesn't matter because that's still money going to another Panthers owner. Siegel is still a partner and still head of the Panthers foundation. Just like Cohen hasn't gone away.
There is no sexy dance. That article has no substance to it at all. All it says is Florida could be in trouble and QC wants a team. Thanks Captain Obvious. The Thrashers ownership situation is different from the Panthers, it just is. ASG is desperate to get rid of the Thrashers. SSE is desperate to keep the Panthers. They give away more free and discounted tickets than I've ever heard of from another pro sports team...because they care about growing the fanbase longterm. ASG supposedly is a ghost in the community in Atlanta. The Panthers have always been involved, and since Viner and Siegel took over and now just Viner, they're in the community twice as much as ever before. ASG has always seemed indifferent to the Thrashers fanbase, Viner and Siegel since they came into the spotlight have shown a genuine commitment to wanting to make the Panthers a better team. From an appearance on TV during intermissions every few weeks, to greeting fans at the door before games and shaking hands, to letting Tallon completely tear down and rebuild the hockey ops department over last summer and expanding the scouting budget while maintaining the player payroll. The Panthers also renovated their practice facility a couple years ago, not that there was anything wrong with it, and it's now one of the best in the league and is the envy of most other teams, that cost in double digit millions. They are also supposedly going to install a few new AC units in the arena this summer to keep the ice better. I could go on and on. I feel for the Thrashers fans, I don't know how they've stayed so classy throughout this.
Explain how it's murky and weird. They are all partners in the same corporation. All they did was shift the general partner tags around and maybe there was some transfer of money/stakes, but whether group A has 30% and Group B has 70%, or group A has 70% and Group B has 30%, does it really matter? There are also lots of other minor partners in the ownership group, it's not just those guys. Since Cohen bought the team in 2000, the Panthers ownership structure has always been a many man operation.
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