FORT LAUDERDALE – No place like home.
In a recent 2024-25 attendance check-in from The Athletic, Harman Dayal and Hailey Salvian reported that the Florida Panthers have seen a 3% increase in fan attendance (+569 fans) in the second half of the season.
Here’s what they had to say on the Panthers’ growth:
The reigning Stanley Cup champions are contenders once again, which is an obvious reason for the Panthers to be risers year-over-year. Matthew Tkachuk has emerged as one of the most marketable players in the league, even appearing on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” after the 4 Nations Face-Off. He’s not the only reason for an uptick in attendance, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
Florida’s attendance has also improved over the last few months after another splashy trade deadline by GM Bill Zito — adding Brad Marchand — and as fans gear up for another deep playoff run.
For the purposes of their article, The Athletic didn't count "home" games played overseas.
Hence, Florida's game at Nokia Arena in Finland in November didn't factor into their reporting.
Since Nokia Arena's capacity is only 13,455, that game skews the basic attendance numbers on HockeyReference.com.
This season, the Panthers are averaging 19,181 fans per game at Amerant Bank Arena.
According to The Athletic, they are averaging the third-most fans per game in the NHL
“They have been unreal the whole year,” Niko Mikkola said of the fan support in Florida.
Filling at an average 99.6% capacity, the Panthers also rank 13th in average capacity.
Overall, only the Montreal Canadiens (21,105) and Toronto Maple Leafs (18,811) rank higher in terms of average number of fans per game.
Hockey and high temperatures, it’s what South Florida is all about these days.
“It’s been awesome,” Evan Rodrigues said of the energy of Amerant Bank Arena this season. “Throughout the regular season and the playoffs, our rink gets rocking.”
That “rocking” has also resulted in wins.
At home this season, the Panthers own a 23-10-2 record, have outscored opponents 110-85 and have outshot opposing teams 1198-937.
Getting the fans going early and keeping the pulse of the arena high, Florida is 18-2-0 at home when scoring first, 12-1-0 when leading after the first period and 17-0-0 when in control after the second.
“I don’t think there was an empty seat at the beginning of the Pittsburgh game the other night,” said Rodrigues. “I think you will continue to see that.”
Like the team preparing for playoffs, fans are going to have to bring it down the stretch and when the postseason rolls around.
As much as the players push to play their game on the ice, the fans can create an atmosphere that adds another element to the game.
It does not go unnoticed by the players on either bench.
"I think they can build the volume like we try to build our game,” said Mikkola.
With 11 games to go in a tight division race and hopes of another deep run in pursuit of lifting Lord Stanley once again, the energy at Amerant Bank Arena should be loud enough to blow the roof off.
“When you go from that Stanley Cup Final atmosphere and then to the regular season, you get amped up and antsy to get that playoff feel again,” said Rodrigues. “I think the entire locker room is looking forward to that.”
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