Florida Panthers arena gets new name once again

The Florida Panthers arena will once again have a new name.

The Panthers announced a naming rights agreement with Amerant Bank on Tuesday, and will be called Amerant Bank Arena.

It is the sixth different name in the venue’s 25-year history. It had been called FLA Live Arena the past two years, while the Panthers looked for a new naming rights partner.

Amerant has been a corporate sponsor of the Panthers for the past two seasons.

The team only disclosed that it is a multi-year deal and did not reveal financial specifics, though Panthers President & CEO Matt Caldwell pointed to the move as another big off-ice win for a team that is enjoying its best on-ice stretch.

“Starting with the 2021-22 season, when we won the Presidents’ Trophy, we broke every franchise record in ticket revenue, sponsorship, attendance, our ancillary business,” Caldwell said. “And then last year, we shattered all that. It’s hard to be a top-tier team unless you have the success on the ice.”

BB&T had been the Panthers’ arena naming rights partner since 2012. BB&T, now Truist, agreed to not extend the deal in September of 2021.

In addition to the BB&T Center (2012-21), the arena was also called the Bank Atlantic Center (2005-12), Office Depot Center (2002-05) and the National Car Rental Center (1998-2002). During construction, the arena was referred to as the Broward County Civic Center until the naming rights were won by National Car Rental.

Located across the street from Sunrise’s Sawgrass Mills mall, the 20,000-seat arena hosts hundreds of major concerts, events, and performance acts each year.

The Panthers are coming off a miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Las Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Florida overcame a 3-1 deficit in the opening round against the NHL’s Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins before knocking off the higher-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.

The Panthers, who reached their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996, open training camp on Sept. 21 and begin the regular season on Oct. 12 at Minnesota.

Most of this year’s team will return next season, with 16 of the 23 roster spots signed for at least one more year.

The Associated Press was used to supplement this report.