Shooting for a new goal: Panthers view arena as a marketing tool
Sarah Talalay

SUNRISE · Next time you attend a concert at Office Depot Center, Florida Panthers executives hope you'll arrive early and look around.

On the arena's front plaza you'll find the Spirit Airlines Funway with its outdoor bars, live music and interactive games. ADT Security Systems is there too, with kiosks where you can learn more about its home security systems in a "low pressure" setting, said ADT President Mike Snyder. The Boca Raton company's three-year sponsorship with the center will be a "test lab for exposure and branding," Snyder said.

And if the Panthers, who operate the arena, have their way, you'll also take time to touch one of the four Harley-Davidson motorcycles -- two on the main concourse and one each on the suite and club levels. You'll sit on Carl's Patio furniture on the arena's balconies, and pick up information on Minto Communities' nearby development, Artesia.

Team executives are striving to paint the building as more than a home for hockey -- the reason the $184 million building at the edge of the Everglades opened 51/2 years ago -- stressing its location, fan comfort, easy access, and a track record of hosting major concerts.

That has allowed the team to pitch the venue as a blank canvas to potential business partners wanting to reach 2 million visitors a year, of whom roughly a third attend Panthers games. Panthers executives are planning for a next season that may not come because of an expected work stoppage, if NHL players and owners do not reach a collective bargaining agreement when the current one expires Sept. 15.

"As an organization, in the past we've been so focused on the Panthers," said Michael Yormark, Panthers chief operating officer. "We realize we have much more than the Panthers here."

In a nod to NASCAR's activity-crowded racetracks, Office Depot Center hopes to become an activity-rich, sponsor-filled arena using a concept known as "experiential marketing." Since Yormark arrived in September from the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, the team has forged 22 sponsorships for about $3.5 million in new yearly revenue.

"We're in the entertainment business. To the extent we can expand that entertainment experience to include opportunities to be entertained prior to and post the concert or game, we're enhancing the value of that ticket purchase," Yormark said. "Some people may say, `This is pretty cool. It's between periods, let me window-shop -- so to speak. Let me mingle.'"

The Office Depot Center is already a successful concert arena. Last month, PollStar ranked the building 14th among the world's top 50 venues in total concert ticket sales for the first quarter of 2004. That's ahead of the Staples Center in Los Angeles and FleetCenter in Boston.

Since 2000, the number of events in the building has risen annually with about 165 expected this year, up from 127 games, shows and concerts last year. Among the marquee names, who appeared or are scheduled, are Prince, Madonna, Shania Twain, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Buffett.

Deeper relationships

A big unresolved question, however, is whether fans will want to "window-shop" at an arena.

William Chipps, senior editor of Chicago-based IEG Sponsorship Report, an industry newsletter, also said the public has become accustomed to sponsorships, but it's not yet clear if the Panthers' marketing partnerships will reach precisely enough of the companies' intended audience, given the arena's different types of events.

He also noted that the Panthers, who are "ahead of the curve" among sports arenas in using this approach, have to be careful about oversaturating the arena with too many messages. They "need to be cognizant of sponsor clutter to make this really effective," Chipps said.

Several of the companies expressed that concern and Yormark said he assured them company displays will occupy their own exclusive spaces within the building and competitors will be separated on different floors.

Kathleen Davis, executive director of Weston-based Sport Management Research Institute, which has evaluated some 80 arenas, stadiums and convention centers for clients, said the companies should benefit from the Panthers' approach of deepening the sponsorship relationships.

"What we've found is some of the strongest and most successful marketing campaigns are the ones that integrate the total sensory approach, where people can touch it, feel it, smell it, taste it," Davis said.

Through the sponsorships, companies can reach a captive audience for a few hours, Davis said, and get an alternative to traditional advertising -- which is particularly attractive when businesses are struggling to compete with personal video recorders that allow TV viewers to skip commercials.

New developments have helped team executives persuade companies, including some that have never sponsored sports, to invest in the team and the building. For example, the team is installing new electronic signs ringing the arena and creating a 500-person private club, expected to open in September. Already 125 people have committed to the club, which costs a minimum of $7,500 annually for a ticket to every event in the arena and includes parking, food, soda, beer and wine.

The improvements were made possible by a refinancing of arena debt. While hockey struggles -- the team has lost about $17 million annually for the past three years and auditors have questioned its long-term viability -- the building is profitable. In December, the Panthers persuaded Broward County, which owns and finances the arena through part of the hotel tax, to allow it to refinance the debt.

The refinancing generated $12.6 million in cash that the team and county are sharing. With the cash infusion, the team is covering two years of debt service payments, a move that could be handy if hockey is put on hold.

`Creating an alliance'

So far, businesses like what they see. Coconut Creek-based Carl's Furniture, for example, was looking to move beyond conventional TV and radio advertising, said Jayson Friedman, Carl's merchandise manager.

"We were very much excited about the opportunity of showing our furniture in that setting, branding our name in the marketplace," Friedman said. "The marriage with the demographics within the Office Depot Center, there was a synergy there."

MetroPCS in Sunrise saw a chance to introduce its phones and service to a vast audience in a two-year agreement with the arena. Concertgoers and hockey fans will be able to try out MetroPCS phones and call mom on Mother's Day.

Minto Communities Inc. also liked the demographic matchup, particularly to push its 1,400-unit upscale Artesia community, north of the arena.

"We looked at it as creating an alliance," said Harry Posin, Minto's executive vice president. "We'll have concierge service [at Artesia] that will be able to get you tickets. It's a powerful amenity and the shows cut across a broad spectrum of markets and ages."

Yormark, too, wants the building to be all-encompassing and is exploring other options from basketball events to boxing.

"We want to make sure the Office Depot Center becomes an experience," Yormark said, "a destination rather than an event."

Sarah Talalay can be reached at stalalay@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4173.