Winter Classic prep, season tickets, arena upgrades keeping Florida Panthers busy
While the Florida Panthers were busy on the ice during their run to a second consecutive Stanley Cup title, Matt Caldwell was equally as busy behind the scenes.
There's a lot on the plate of the team's president and CEO.
In addition to handling the business side of things on the playoff run — including the eventual parade that took place last weekend on Fort Lauderdale Beach that reportedly cost more than $2 million — Caldwell had a slew of other operational duties to take care of.
Continued preparation for the 2026 Winter Classic, set to be held at Miami's loanDepot park on Jan. 2. Season-ticket renewals. Upgrades to Amerant Bank Arena that are about to get underway for next season.
'It's a good problem to have,' Caldwell told the Miami Herald earlier this month, while the Panthers were still in the midst of their Stanley Cup Final series with the Edmonton Oilers that they won in six games to secure their second consecutive title.
Fortunately for Caldwell, the Panthers being on extended runs like this have become common. This year marked Florida's third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Florida also hosted the All-Star Game in 2023 ahead of their first Cup Final run and had the trip to Finland this regular season as part of the NHL's Global Series.
That year-over-year experience, Caldwell said, has helped him learn to manage all the moving parts that come with his job when his team has an elongated postseason run and multiple priorities to handle at any given time.
He has a good support group to lean on as well, mentioning chief revenue officer Shawn Thornton and chief strategy officer Mark Zarthar among people he has been able to delegate responsibilities to in order to better manage this busy stretch that now also included planning to host one of the league's biggest annual events in the Winter Classic in just more than six months.
'These last three years, it feels like one gig, you know, one big year altogether, like nonstop,' Caldwell said. 'It really feels like one big dream. ... These big events, these tentpole marquee events that the NHL has, we're blessed to participate in them. I think if we didn't have the experience of the last three years, it would be tougher as we can prepare for the Winter Classic.'
Where things stand with Winter Classic prep
As for specifics of those preparations, the league has already visited loanDepot park four times, including between Games 3 and 4 of the Cup Final when the series was in Sunrise, to begin surveying the stadium and get initial preparations done for the game between the Panthers and the Rangers.
Steve Mayer, president of NHL events and content, and Dean Matsuzaki, NHL executive vice president of events, said the real ramp-up to getting specifics for the Winter Classic in order will come following the NHL Draft, which takes place in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday.
'This summer will be a big, busy time for us,' Matsuzaki said. 'We're at a fairly good spot with the visits we've done so far to understand some of the real key operational pieces, like where the ice truck is going to go and how we're going to run the piping to the floor, where the route for the Zamboni to get to the ice will be. Once we have that in place, then we can start layering on some of the pageantry and things like that and the entertainment.'
The Panthers' Winter Classic will be the first of two outdoor games held in the state during the course of a month, with the Tampa Bay Lightning hosting the Stadium Series against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 1 at Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
There is a 'slight advantage,' Mayer said, in terms of preparing for the Panthers' outdoor game than the Lightning's because loanDepot park has the retractable roof.
'We'll be risking just a little bit when we open [the roof] up,' Mayer said, 'but we are doing a night game. We are playing [at a time of year that's] probably an ideal weather for the ice. You never know if there's gonna be a heat wave. You never know if it's gonna be pouring down rain, all of the above, but we feel pretty confident. And what a beautiful ballpark. It's amazing.'
Caldwell said that sometimes he still has to pinch himself to know that what's going on is actually happening. Even just a few years ago, before this current run of success, the Panthers struggled to fill the arena during the season. They had gone nearly two-and-a-half decades in between winning playoff series.
Now, they're on top of the hockey world.
'It certainly is real,' Caldwell said.
More Panthers updates
And that has led to some real changes that the team has had to make.
That included increasing season-ticket prices, a move that Caldwell said was necessary after the team's consistent success and the fact that they had kept prices low relative to the rest of the league for so long.
And while not everyone was happy about the decision — 'I don't think people were cheerleading us; there were definitely a lot of questions and feedback,' Caldwell said — more than 90 percent of season-ticket holders renewed for next season, Caldwell said, adding that the wait list for potential new season-ticket holders is almost at capacity as well.
The Panthers did a town hall with Caldwell, coach Paul Maurice and president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Zito in January to explain the reasoning behind the price increase.
'You guys have been so loyal to us and we've kept pricing low for a very long time,' Caldwell said. 'We explained that many people will be getting, at least on a percentage basis, a pretty steep increase but when you step back and look at the rest of the NHL, given our team performance and given the demand for tickets, our average ticket price was still in the bottom five of the league. I think people understood the logic.'
The team is also in the process of upgrading the arena for the start of next season. The team's scoreboard at center ice, which has been in place since 2013, is being replaced, as are the LED ribbon boards throughout the arena.
Additionally, a portion of the the 300-level of the arena will go through a makeover as well. About 1,400 seats will be removed to create a viewing deck similar to what the Tampa Bay Lightning constructed in 2011. Caldwell said that area will be able to fit about 800 people, so arena capacity will drop to about 18,650 once it's complete.
'I think the fans will be excited to see the upgrades next year,' Caldwell said.
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