SUNRISE, Fla. -- Bernie Kosar wanted to make sure the
Florida Panthers remained locally owned and operated.
So the former NFL and Miami Hurricanes quarterback, with the help of a group of South Florida investors, purchased the NHL franchise for about $101 million. The deal, which still must be approved by the league's board of governors, was announced Tuesday.
"Are there better investments out there, better return for your dollar? Probably," the 37-year-old Kosar said. "Are we doing this purely for the investment and return? No. You could probably find better investments and returns out there.
"This really is our backyard and this really is something we care about. We didn't want to see someone from out of South Florida take control of something in our neighborhood."
Although Kosar, who played 12 years with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, is the biggest name in the group, the money primarily will come from Alan P. Cohen, CEO of generic drug maker Andrx Corp.
The eight-man group also includes South Florida car magnate Mike
Maroone and Precision Response CEO David Epstein.
"This isn't a hobby," Kosar said. "This is not something
we're doing just to have fun and see if we like it. ... There's a
competitiveness that burns within all of us. This is about really
winning. We're all really good winners and we're terrible losers."
The Panthers will retain president and interim general manager
Bill Torrey, Kosar said. The owners also will defer all hockey
decisions to Torrey, including the current coaching search.
Florida stumbled through an injury-filled season last year, missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
After winning just five of the first 36 games, coach Terry
Murray and general manager Bryan Murray were fired in December. The
Panthers promoted assistant coach Duane Sutter and went 16-20-6-4
under the former NHL player.
"The first bit of business is to straighten away our coaching
situation," Torrey said. "We know who's available. We've done our
search there, we've had some discussions. We're going to finalize
that as soon as we can."
Once the coaching situation is settled, Florida will begin
rebuilding around Pavel Bure, the league's leading goal scorer, and
Roberto Luongo, a rising young goaltender. The Panthers have four
of the top 50 picks in the upcoming NHL entry draft.
"We've got a lot of work ahead of us, but there is a really bright future for this franchise," Torrey said.
Wayne Huizenga brought the expansion team to South Florida in
1993. But Huizenga, CEO of Boca Resorts, the parent company that
owns the hockey team, had been trying to sell the franchise for
more than 18 months.
In 1999, Huizenga said Boca Resorts had hired Allen & Co., a New York investment banking firm, to search for a buyer. Boca Resorts had hoped to sell the team for $150 million to $175 million.
"Despite having a strong attachment to the team, we have an
obligation to provide those who invest in our company with the
highest return on their investment," said Richard Rochon,
president of Boca Resorts, a publicly held company that owns luxury
resort properties and golf courses in Florida.
Rochon said Huizenga would be a minority partner in the investor
group.
The $101 million deal includes $83.5 million in cash, a $7.5
million secured promissory note and the assumption of debt.
It also includes the rights to the operating agreement of the
National Car Rental Center, the Panthers' home.
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