from Brittany Wallman of the Sun Sentinel,

The Florida Panthers professional hockey team says it's losing more than $20 million a year and needs more public funds to survive.

The struggling team is asking for a rewrite of its contract with Broward county. Under the team's proposal, the county would use additional tourism taxes to pick up $70 million in BB&T Center costs currently being paid by the Panthers. The team also hopes to develop 22 acres north of the BB&T arena in Sunrise into a casino-hotel, if the state Legislature enacts laws that allow it this spring.

Panthers President Michael Yormark said the deal that birthed the arena in the late 1990s has proven unsustainable.

"I think the community wants a healthy arena,'' Yormark said. "They want a healthy sports team. They want the benefit that a professional sports team and world-class entertainment brings to their community.''

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