The next season, the partnership expanded even further as Amerant increased its investment in the Panthers by sponsoring both home and away helmets, taking over the building’s impressive luxury club area and re-naming it the "Amerant Vault," and also becoming the club’s official bank.
Now, the bank’s logo will be visible both in and outside the arena.
Heck, you’ll probably be able to see it if you’re on a flight heading into Fort Lauderdale.
Coming a long way from those humble beginnings as a helmet sticker, Amerant Bank Arena will now be the official home of Panthers hockey and the county’s premier entertainment venue.
“We just click,” Jerry Plush, Chairman and CEO of Amerant, said during a press conference announcing the new partnership on Tuesday. “We worked everything out very, very easily between the teams. This was really a natural fit and very much a progression.”
The community bank of Broward, Miami Dade and Palm Beach counties, Amerant Bank, which has served clients for over 40 years, continues to grow and currently has four Broward County branches with another opening soon in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, an operations center in Miramar, and recently announced a Broward County Regional Headquarters in Plantation.
In addition to their own growth, it’s the growth of the Panthers that excited Plush.
Just as Amerant upped its investment in the Panthers over the last three seasons, the team also enjoyed a similar upward trajectory. After winning their first playoff series since 1996 in 2020-21, the Panthers captured their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season team in 2021-22.
As for the 2022-23 campaign, who could forget that?
Going on a “magical run,” as Plush describes it, the Panthers clawed their way back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in the franchise’s history, a miraculous couple of months that began with one of the NHL’s all-time greatest upsets against the 65-win Boston Bruins in Round 1.
So as the Panthers prepare to start their next quest for the Cup when the regular season kicks off next month, Plush believes that Amerant is getting in at the start of something special.
“We just watched these guys progress,” said Plush, who grew up a big hockey fan. “We just felt that this was a really great opportunity just to jump in early. One of the nice things about us being local, being involved and getting to know everyone is that we made the decision quickly.”
While Panthers President & CEO Matt Caldwell quipped that the team’s unforgettable playoff run certainly “made conversations a lot easier” when it came to negotiating the organization’s new naming rights deal, it wasn’t the ultimate thing that truly brought the two parties together.
Even when dealing with a bank, it’s not always about dollars and cents.
“Of course you’re going to be looking at the financial of any deal you’re going to do in business and especially in sports, but it gets to a certain level where you can put the numbers aside and really focus on who you want to be with,” Caldwell said. “They really put their best foot forward.”
Like the Panthers, Amerant also has a strong commitment to helping the community.
As part of their deal last season, the Panthers and Amerant Bank partnered for the inaugural "Saves for Vets" campaign to donate $40 per save made by a Panthers goaltender throughout the 2022-23 regular and postseason. With over 3,011 saves by Panthers goaltenders -- good job, guys! -- $120,440 will be split and donated to nine veteran-focused nonprofit organizations.
With their new deal, Amerant will not only continue its "Saves for Vets" campaign, but also remain a partner of the ever-growing Panthers Kids Club and many other youth hockey initiatives.
“This is not just a partnership,” said Caldwell, who’s excitement about the new deal was palpable. “Every event we do, every hockey game, every press release we put out, both of our brands are on the line. We want to be with someone that we trust. … We have a little track record with Amerant Bank. For them to step up and kind of take our largest asset, it’s really exciting.”
To cheer on the Cats at Amerant Bank Arena this season, click **HERE**.
