Florida Panthers, Home Ice Advantage Absent

Official Review by John Beatty, Stadium Journey Correspondent

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Since 1998, the BankAtlantic Center has been the home of the Florida Panthers, the first having been the now demolished Miami Arena. The BAC was built out at the edge of the Everglades in Sunrise in order to attract fans from Broward and West Palm Beach counties. Sunrise is an outer suburb of Fort Lauderdale, home mostly to gated developments, strip malls and the Sawgrass Mills mall and outlet center.

While the Florida Panthers set the bar high early with the best ever record for an expansion team their first season and a Cinderella run to the Cup final in their third, the team has only been to the playoffs once since they moved to their current home, back in the 1999-2000 season. Nevertheless, the eternally optimistic hardcore fanbase return year after year in hopes that this is the year.

Food & Beverage   2/5

Most of the food at the BankAtlantic Center is subpar and overpriced. There are a number of food courts off the main concourse on the upper and lower bowl levels of the arena. The club level has one food court on the end. Everything sold at the food courts with the exception of beer is terrible. Sample items are inedible chicken fingers and cold fries for $10, Papa John’s personal pizza that’s been sitting under a heat lamp for $9 and undrinkable coffee for $3.

Beer sold is Bud, Bud Light and Heineken. There are better options in the arena than the food courts, but all are fairly expensive. Beer carts selling Molson are located throughout the lower level concourse, as is a vodka bar. Carts selling a selection of Irish beers are located on the lower and upper levels as are “Java Joint” coffee bars. The coffee at the carts is ridiculously expensive ($6 for hot chocolate, $7 for most espresso drinks) but far superior to the food court coffee. There is always a long line at the upper level coffee stand between periods.

For good food, visit the Everglades BBQ stand on the lower level. A good bet is the BBQ sandwich and cole slaw for $9, or the stir fry and sandwich stands by the bar above Pantherland.

There are also restaurants on the suite level open to all ticket holders. Both open an hour before game time. The Patron Club offers fancy soups, salads and sandwiches. An average ticket for a sandwich with drink is about $20. The Chairman’s Club offers a buffet for $35 before most home games. There is a third restaurant, the AvMed All-Star cafe, but it is only open to lower bowl ticket holders.

Atmosphere   1/5

The atmosphere at the BankAtlantic Center leaves quite a bit to be desired. There is little in the building that would clue one into the fact that a hockey team plays here. There are a couple of player photos on the walls and the hockey store, Pantherland, is front and center at the main entrance.

Besides this, there are only a few banners in the ceiling to let everyone know there is a team here. There was a ramshackle “Den of Honor” on the lower concourse that was torn down to make way for more advertisements. After a large public outcry, the team announced a new, larger Den of Honor to be opened in March. The building is only 10 years old, but hasn’t been kept up well. The carpet is in dire need of replacement and is held together with gaffer tape.

The games are noisy affairs with loud music and movie clips played in between the ads during breaks in the action. In addition, a number of audience participation games are played during the breaks. All of the noise makes it hard to discuss the game at any time that it’s not actually being played, and game presentation staff prefer animations to replays.

Neighborhood   3/5

While not in a downtown area, there are plenty of options for pre and post-game activities near the BankAtlantic Center. The Sawgrass Mills mall is across the street from the arena and offers a number of chain restaurants as well as a food court for before game meals. A lot of Canadiens jerseys are usually seen at the food court when the Habs are in town. Most of the mall is closed after games, but on Sunrise Boulevard, a few blocks away, there are two places for post-game food and drink, Friday’s and the Quarterdeck. Lester’s Diner on SW 136th Ave about a half mile south of the arena is a good place for a quiet, inexpensive post-game dinner.

If you have some time before game, there are a few better restaurants in nearby Weston, namely Lucille’s American Cafe and Stevie B’s Rib Cafe, both on Weston Road. Lucille’s offers comfort food and burgers. Stevie B’s offers burgers and barbecue. Both average around $20 a person. The strip mall housing Stevie B’s also is home to a dynamite local ice cream shop. There are also several fast food options on Sunrise Blvd for those in a hurry.

Fans   3/5

The subject of fans can be a touchy one. There are a lot of transplants in South Florida, particularly from New York and Massachusetts, and a lot of Canadians spend winters here. Consequently, Rangers, Canadiens and Leafs games feel like home games for the visiting teams. However, the team has been here a number of years and as youth hockey becomes more popular and more transplants raise children here, it seems that every year more of the Rangers fans have kids sporting Panthers gear.

As for the local fans, the hardcore fans are pretty noisy, cheering and chanting throughout the games, but a lot of the casual fans are pretty quiet. When any team from the northeast or midwest visits, there are generally a lot of away jerseys and competing chants. Penguins, Flyers and Sabres games are particularly spirited affairs as are games against the cross-state rival Lightning.

South Florida is a fickle sports market, with only the Dolphins doing well most years. The Heat and Panthers get a lot of people at games when they’re winning and not many when they’re not. The Marlins can’t even seem to fill the building when they are winning. Since the Panthers haven’t been in the playoffs for eight seasons, attendance has been particularly bad, except when Canadian or New York teams are in town. Weeknight games can sometimes be particularly lacking in energy with all of the empty seats.

Access   5/5

The BankAtlantic Center blows every other local arena out of the water when it comes to access. From the south, an exit from the Sawgrass Expressway drops drivers right behind the arena. This exit is also accessible as an entrance ramp back on the expressway from the parking lots behind gates 1 and 2. The Expressway exit north of the arena drops drivers a few blocks up Flamingo Road, and it’s a quick drive to the gates.

The arena is also easily reachable from surface streets. The parking lots are well-designed, emptying out fairly quickly after games. The parking fee is included in the ticket prices. This was instituted a few years ago to keep people from dodging the $5 parking fee by parking in the mall and walking across the street.

Return on Investment   4/5

All things considered, the price is a reasonable for a night out. The ticket is one of the cheapest in the league (if not the cheapest). Tickets start at $15 ($10 + $5 parking) for upper bowl goal zone, with front row upper bowl seats at $55. Lower bowl seats start at $50 up to $225 for front row. Most games don’t sell out and discounts are almost always available. While it can be argued that the on-ice product isn’t particularly good, the reality is that it costs a good deal more to see a Heat game and they aren’t much better a team than the Panthers.

Extras   1/5

The layout of the building is worth an extra point. The food courts off the upper and lower concourses are set back from the main concourse, with the bulk of the lines kept out of the thoroughfares. The sightlines are good from almost anywhere in the arena. I have sat all over the building and the only seats I would say to avoid are lower bowl goal zone seats on the end where the dancers set up, as it can be hard to get to and from your seat during the various dance numbers or break entertainments. Tall people should beware of row 3 in the upper bowl as there is a plexiglass barrier installed in front of the row that cuts into the leg room.

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