Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Panthers near vote to replace gun show
Investment would provide public ice rink and sports fields at War Memorial Auditorium
FORT LAUDERDALE – The Florida Panthers are serious about plans to replace the gun show at War Memorial Auditorium — a multimillion-dollar investment to provide public ice skating and hockey rinks, and indoor sports fields.
The chilly new sports destination could be part of a larger overhaul for the city’s Holiday Park, a 93-acre playground off Federal Highway, south of Sunrise Boulevard. The Panther plans could get a boost Tuesday, when city commissioners are expected to vote to formalize their intent to seal a deal with the hockey team’s new social purpose corporation.
A final lease agreement — at a term of $1 a year for 50 years — would be voted on April 16.
The National Hockey League team’s new civic arm plans a major redo at the 1950s auditorium in Holiday Park. The plan, still in formation, could include a new indoor rink with two sheets of ice, a city commissioner familiar with the plans said.
The auditorium and land are publicly owned, but the city can lease it to a civic or charitable
organization without a competitive process if the public would benefit, a memo from City Manager Chris Lagerbloom says. In this case, the War Memorial Benefit Corporation would provide rinks for public skating, recreational and youth hockey, youth figure skating, indoor soccer and other sports, according to the memo.
The Panthers play in the county-owned BB&T Center in Sunrise and practice in the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs.
Until recently, the auditorium filled up with weapons on a regular basis for the Florida Gun Shows Inc.’s gun and knife show. City commissioners put a stop to the show — which had drawn controversy for years. The gun show sued, and the city recently beefed up its legal team to fight.
The new sports complex would be part of a greater plan to rejuvenate Holiday Park if the city’s $200 million parks bond passes in March, City Commissioner Steve Glassman said. Holiday Park is one of four “signature” projects the city is promising. The bond, paid for with a property tax increase, would provide $21 million for renovation of the concession stands, tennis center and tennis courts, plus more racquetball courts, a shade structure for the baseball field, an athletic field and a $10 million parking garage that would clear up space for more sports fields and offer recreation on top.
Glassman said the Panthers propose building two ice sheets in an indoor rink near the War Memorial Auditorium, possibly to the south. He said their investment could reach $30 million to $40 million.
In addition to the Panthers and park bond plans, operators of the Parker Playhouse at Holiday Park are raising funds for a major renovation, Glassman said.
“It’s going to be quite, quite spectacular if it all comes to fruition,” Glassman said.
Fort Lauderdale commissioners Tuesday also will discuss the latest efforts to get homeless people off the streets, and will give a final vote on a law allowing the city manager to ban electric scooters from the beach during Spring Break.
The meetings are held at City Hall, 100 N. Andrews Ave., in Fort Lauderdale, and can be viewed online at www.fortlauderdale.gov. A workshop with the Sustainability Advisory Board starts at noon. The City Commission conference meeting starts at 1:30 p.m. The regular City Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m.