To say the Florida Panthers are in trying times would be a vast understatement.
The team, which is second-to-last in the Atlantic Division with 12 points through 10 games, is dead last in the NHL in attendance. The Panthers are the only team not avearging above 10,000 fans at each of their home games. Earlier this year the franchise was embarrassed when around 7,300 people showed up for a game:
The start of tonight's #FlaPanthers #Sens game ... Expected to be well short of franchise low of 10,063 (set in 2007) pic.twitter.com/4tJAbtBDyQ
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) October 13, 2014
With all this in mind perhaps it isn't surprising that the Panthers are losing money, but the exact amount of dollars leaving the organization is mind-boggling. Florida co-owner Doug Cifu said the team lost about $114,000 per day last season.
This season the team has eliminated discounted and complimentary tickets, so while attendance is down, Cifu says the "net intake has not suffered."
Despite presistent rumors, Cifu and co-owner Vinnie Viola, who purchased the team for $250 million in September 2013, have promised that the franchise will remain in South Florida.
It's not rare for an NHL team to lose money. The Chicago Blackhawks failed to turn a profit in either of their two runs to the Stanley Cup the past five years. In fact, no more than a handful of NHL teams actually wind up in the black. Revenue sharing has helped the league's struggling franchises.
While it may not be much of a consolation, the Panthers and their fans an take solace in knowing that while their team may have lost money, they surely lost less than the Brooklyn Nets.
