The Cats are staying in the jungle — aka Sunrise, FL.
There are a series of updates to be made to Amerant Bank Arena, the Florida Panthers' home since 1998.
The facelift will include a new scoreboard that will be installed in time for 2025-26. Team president Matt Caldwell stated that the new board will largely occupy the same space as the current one, allowing it to be lifted closer to the rafters when concerts are held at the arena.
"Our organizational pillars — curating a world-class experience for our fans, investing in our people and players, and serving the community — were the driving force behind these capital improvements," said Florida Panthers Executive Vice President of People & Facilities Rob Stevenson. "From new guest amenities to sustainable technology, we couldn't be more excited to deliver these arena-wide enhancements or more appreciative of our team's hard work in bringing them to life."
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But the most-needed upgrades will happen to the arena's upper deck sections as mostly any changes that have been made in the past have been to the 100-level concourse.
Some 300-level areas still look the same as they did when the arena opened nearly three decades ago.
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The Panthers and the Broward County Board of Commissioners reached an agreement in September to extend the lease for Amerant Bank Arena, potentially keeping the NHL team in Sunrise until 2043.
The most significant change will occur in the shoot-twice end zone, where about 1,400 seats will be removed to make way for a viewing deck, similar to the one the Tampa Bay Lightning introduced in 2011. While the 19,250-seat arena's capacity will decrease, Caldwell noted that the deck can accommodate 800 fans, resulting in only a minor reduction in overall capacity.
The defending Stanley Cup champions had already made several major updates to their home arena at the start of this season.
The Florida Panthers had already introduced several state-of-the-art enhancements to Amerant Bank Arena, prioritizing both performance and fan experience.
The arena now features advanced HVAC units, an all-new LED sports lighting system, improvied ice quality with two new Zambonis equipped with FastICE System technology and a unique "Fanboni" experience.
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