Panthers pitch ice rink for War Memorial
Lauderdale seeks events for families
FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers are preparing a proposal to lay ice rinks in the War Memorial Auditorium at Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Park, a possibility city leaders say could help transform the venue into a more family friendly destination.
City officials have been wringing their hands in recent months about how to replace a controversial gun show at the auditorium with something more fitting for the building’s park setting.
They revealed recently that the Panthers organization, a National Hockey League team, is eyeing the city-owned auditorium as a potential chilly playground for hockey-loving children. It also could serve as an eastside training rink for the team. The proposal would include an indoor lacrosse
and soccer field for youth, city elected officials said.
The Panthers play in the county-owned BB&T Center
in Sunrise and practice in the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs. The War Memorial Auditorium is nestled in a large park east of U.S. 1, just south of Sunrise Boulevard.
The team has not divulged details, but city officials said they expect a formal proposal soon.
“We’re in the process of conducting feasibility studies and exploring different concepts for the War Memorial,” a Panthers spokesman said by email. “We look forward to sharing specific plans with the city and the public soon.”
The venue opened in January 1950 as a cultural
center where symphony orchestras and opera companies could perform, and civic and sports functions could be held, according to Michael Conca, president of the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation.
The community raised the money to build it, as a memorial for veterans and fallen soldiers of World World II, newspaper clippings say. Later, tributes to veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars were added.
The Panthers’ interest comes as Fort Lauderdale seeks a new identity for the auditorium. Opposition to the city’s hosting of a gun
show intensified after the Feb. 14 Parkland school shooting. The newly elected Fort Lauderdale City Commission announced this year that they
do not intend to renew the gun show’s license agreement when it expires in November.
Commissioner Heather Moraitis, who has taken a keen interest in reprogramming the auditorium, said she held a community meeting recently to talk about the auditorium’s future. Moraitis and other commissioners were stung
by a recent survey that found residents don’t think Fort Lauderdale is a good
place to raise children. She said the auditorium should be activated for children’s recreational use, because it’s in a city park.
The Panthers want to put two sheets of ice in the auditorium, for indoor hockey youth leagues, Moraitis said in a text message. The team also proposes a soccer and lacrosse field.
“The team would likely skate there on one of the rinks,” she said.
It’s unknown how often the team would use the rink.
“I would want to ensure the space is open to the public to watch and use,” Moraitis said.
City Manager Lee Feldman said the city can accept an unsolicited proposal from the Panthers. If commissioners decided to move forward with it, the city would have to advertise the Panthers proposal and give competitors the opportunity to make counter-proposals, Feldman said.
The city parks and recreation advisory board discussed the auditorium and agreed recently that the city should pursue ways to make more money there. The board considered but rejected the idea of changing the name from War Memorial to Veterans Memorial to remove the “negative connotation” of war, a memo to the City Commission summarized.