The Florida Panthers championship parade on Sunday was not cheap.
The Panthers say they paid more than $2 million to cover the costs of setting up the stage on the beach and public safety details.
Dozens of police and firefighters worked the event, keeping a massive crowd of fans safe. Sunday’s celebration drew at least 220,000 people, according to police estimates released Tuesday. Last year’s parade was hit with rain and thunder, resulting in a somewhat smaller crowd.
This year’s bill for city services, including oversight provided by police from Fort Lauderdale and other agencies, came to $577,000.
Fort Lauderdale taxpayers kicked in $200,000, lowering the team’s bill for city services to $377,000.
This time, Fort Lauderdale made sure to get the payment upfront. The bill was paid in full on Friday afternoon, said Fort Lauderdale spokeswoman Ashley Doussard.
Last year, the city waited nearly a year to get paid despite sending invoice after invoice, city records show.
The city’s cost for last year’s parade for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champs came to nearly $400,000. The city kicked in $200,000.
In January 2025, the Panthers asked the commission to waive the rest of the bill but was told no.
The city sent four email reminders and four invoices to the team.
The last email, sent in April, included this stern warning: “The city of Fort Lauderdale is still awaiting payment from the Panthers for the 2024 parade. The 2024 parade invoice needs to be paid before additional services are provided for the 2025 playoffs.”
Fans celebrate during the Panthers championship parade at Fort Lauderdale Beach on Sunday. At least 220,000 fans came to show their support, according to police estimates. (Sean Pitts/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
When asked last week why it took the Panthers months to pay the bill, a team spokesperson told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the team waited months to hear whether the bill was being waived — a claim disputed by the city.
City records show Fort Lauderdale sent the team four invoices over the past year. The first was sent on July 16, around two weeks after last year’s parade. Three more went out on Sept. 25, Dec. 13 and Feb. 7.
Each invoice said: “Please remit payment within 14 days.”
The city also emailed reminders this year advising that the parade invoice was past due. The emails were sent on Feb. 7, Feb. 24, March 17 and April 13.
But the paper trail doesn’t tell the whole story, according to the team.
A Panthers spokesperson said team officials had back-and-forth calls with the city over the cost before finally paying the full amount that was owed.
Ted Inserra, a local activist who has spoken up at City Hall meetings about Fort Lauderdale helping pay for the team’s parade last year, says he doesn’t understand why the Panthers didn’t pay the money right away.
“They expect a free ride — is that it?” he said. “They have tons of money. They must think we owe them. It just doesn’t sound right.”
The Florida Panthers are owned by Wall Street billionaire Vincent Viola, who purchased the team in 2013. Viola, the founder and chairman of the electronic trading firm Virtu Financial, has an estimated net worth of $6.1 billion, according to Forbes.
The top players make $10 million a year.
Florida Panthers CEO Matt Caldwell told CNBC last year that the team’s revenue has skyrocketed after the team’s first Stanley Cup win.
The Panthers have been thriving financially — a fact not lost on Mayor Dean Trantalis.
“They approached me last year to see if we could do better on the bill,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “I brought it up to the commission in January. The commission said no.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan
Originally Published: June 24, 2025 at 6:31 PM EDT