New Florida Panthers Owners Vow To Build Team's Fan Base

November 17, 2009 7:39 a.m. EST

Sunrise, Fl. (AHN) - Hoping to breathe new life into a somewhat stagnant and anonymous franchise, the Florida Panthers introduced new co-managing partners Stuart Siegel and Cliff Viner on Monday.

The duo will take controlling interest of the team upon NHL approval.

Siegel and Viner, Boca Raton-based businessmen and hockey nuts, were already minority owners of the team, which hasn't made the playoffs since 2000.

They vow to bring a sense of professionalism as they take over for Alan Cohen, who will retain a 25 percent share of the club. And, yes, Viner and Siegel understand the magnitude of their challenge in football-crazed South Florida.

"Part of our issues have been we really have not, unfortunately, had a winning culture here for quite a while, just evidenced by the success of the team on the ice," Siegel said. "And I think the biggest thing we're going to do through that professionalism and organization is really try to build a culture of winning here that we can sustain over a long period of time. It's not going to be easy, but we need to create that here."

The Panthers have not only suffered on the ice, but also in finding an identity among a crowded sports landscape. South Florida - which includes the cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach -is dominated by the Miami Dolphins, who are the undisputed sports kings. After that it's a toss-up among the Miami Heat, University of Miami football, and Florida Marlins.

And after those teams the interest swings toward the University of Florida and Florida State football.

Then it's the Panthers.

Viner and Siegel, a pair of Ivy Leaguers who got their master's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, are hoping to move up in the pecking order.

Viner said the plan of attack is to create a "true professional, organized, disciplined, accountable type organization that has a disciplined set of goals, a direction that doesn't change and people that are really committed every day to in effect building all the pieces that are necessary to make that happen."

The Panthers, who arrived in South Florida in 1993-94 and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1995-96, have been hemorrhaging money for a decade.

Cohen bought the team from Wayne Huizenga in 2001 and it has been losing millions per season. Estimates put the annual losses somewhere around $10 million a year.

Viner and Sigel are convinced some elbow grease could turn that trend.

"I think it starts from the top," said Siegel, who played college hockey at Penn. "It starts with the things Cliff said. As much as we like to think we've been the ultimate professional organization, I think that in some ways we from a leadership standpoint we may have failed in that. We feel as leaders that the two of us will be a lot stronger in being able to create that."

One way the new owners intend to help their identity is being more accessible to fans.

"I think Alan had the right intentions, he put a lot of money into this thing, a lot of heart and soul into this," Siegel said. "In the end, obviously we didn't have a winning culture here. I'm not trying to say anything poorly about Alan, because I think he had all the right intentions, he put his heart and soul into this." As for coach Peter DeBoer and general manager Randy Sexton, their jobs appear safe. But Siegel added, "?as in any sport, the general manager and coach are most on the line for succeeding."