Born in Evergreen Park, Ill., Huizenga moved to South Florida as a teenager and forever considered it home. As owner of the Miami Dolphins (NFL), Huizenga expanded South Florida's presence in the world of sports in 1993, by introducing his hometown to both the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball with the Panthers and the Florida Marlins (MLB).
When Huizenga brought hockey to South Florida, he named Bill Torrey the club's inaugural President to help steer the upstart organization. In the Panthers first season, they finished one win out of playoff contention with 33 wins and 83 points, which at that time, made them the most successful first season expansion franchise in NHL history.
By 1996, the Panthers won an Eastern Conference title on their way to the Stanley Cup Final, a year affectionately known as 'the Year of the Rat'.
Owner of the Panthers from their inception until 2001, Huizenga along with his wife Marti, were highly involved with the club, its players and its fans. Marti and Wayne were, like the people of South Florida, swept up in the craze of the Panthers 1996 Stanley Cup Final run and were often in the stands tossing rats with the fans following each Panthers goal.
In 1998, Huizenga moved the Panthers from the aging Miami Arena to Broward County. The Panthers new home became the newly constructed National Car Rental Center, known today as BB&T Center.
Huizenga was the only person in history to have six companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and to have built three Fortune 500 companies: Waste Management, Inc., Blockbuster Entertainment and AutoNation Inc.
At age 25, Huizenga who at that time was enlisted in the Army Reserves, began a waste pickup business with one truck after receiving a $5,000 loan from his father. Within five years, Huizenga had turned one truck into a thriving business, forming Waste Management, Inc. By 1971, WMI went public as it purchased nearly 150 local and regional garbage services to become the largest waste disposal company in the U.S.
Following his success with Waste Management, Huizenga purchased Blockbuster Video in 1987. Huizenga grew Blockbuster from a $7 million business with 19 stores to a $4 billion business with more than 3,700 stores in 11 countries.
After his sale of Blockbuster to Viacom for $8.4 billion in stock, Huizenga founded AutoNation, Extended Stay America and Republic Services (before merging it with Waste Management).
The native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was a leader in the South Florida community and over the years held membership in a variety of local civic organizations, including the Florida Council of 100, Florida Council of Economic Education, Salvation Army of South Florida and Boys and Girls Club of Broward County. A significant donor to Nova Southeastern University, the business school in Davie, the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship is named in his honor.
On Jan. 19, 2018, the Panthers honored Mr. Huizenga before their game against the Vegas Golden Knights by retiring the number 37 to the rafters of BB&T Center. The number 37 was selected by the Huizenga family in recognition of Wayne's birth year and lucky number.
Marti Huizenga passed away at age 74 on January, 3, 2017. Wayne is survived by his four children, Ray, Pamela, Wayne Jr., and Scott; and 11 grandchildren.
The Florida Panthers are forever grateful for Mr. Huizenga's dream of bringing hockey to South Florida and for his tremendous contributions to the foundation of our organization.
