The Florida Panthers are leveraging possible lockouts in the NFL and NBA in ad campaigns

While most of the sports-watching public is awaiting the potential doomsday of both an NFL and NBA lockout in the fall, other sports leagues are looking to take advantage.

The Florida Panthers of the NHL, for example, have started using this advertising campaign on their website, which promotes the Panthers as a viable and desirable option for sports fans in normally crowded Florida market come November.

The slogan reads alongside two juxtaposed pictures of Panthers players and a football and basketball in a beach chair in an ocean setting:

In October 2011: We’re Guaranteed to Play. They’re not!

The Panthers’ campaign works under the understanding that many fans may not be willing to commit to buying tickets to Dolphins or Heat games because of the potential lockouts. In the ad, the organization also promotes its biggest matchups of the season with traditional hockey teams that Florida-transplants from the North may find enticing: Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Pittsburgh and Washington.

Since the NBA has some time before the June 30th expiration of its current collective bargaining agreement, the focus has been on the NFL’s negotiating crisis and how fans will respond to not having football every Sunday. The United Football League (UFL) is seeking to bank on the potential NFL lockout.

Even though ESPN authorities have said that they have “no current plans” to adopt UFL broadcasts if the NFL season is cut short or cancelled, the league is pushing itself as an option for professional football this fall.

“Every network is looking at content they have to fill in, and people are seeing us as a potential viable option,” UFL commissioner, Michael Huyghue told TSN.

Huyghue said the league lost $30 million in its inaugural season in 2009 and $50 million last season. But league officials are optimistic about where the league could escalate given the potential for a television contract granted there’s an NFL lockout.

“To be candid, we'd be crazy to quit now if there's going to be a lockout,” UFL Founder and Locos Owner Bill Hambrecht told KLAS-TV. “We'd be the only game in town. Almost under any circumstances, we have to see through what's going to happen with the lockout.”

Huyghue insists that the UFL’s plans are not contingent on an NFL lockout. “It's not a business strategy for us,” he said. “It's potentially an opportunity.”

The Florida Panthers and the UFL are two examples among many sports leagues and individual teams that could benefit from the elimination of competing with the NFL for viewership, attendance and attention.

While the Panthers are promoting an NFL lockout in their advertising, Huyghue and the UFL have approached the issue more cautiously.

“There's been so much anticipation for what a lockout might mean,” Huyghue told ESPN. “We're still around. Just breathing has a lot to do with the chance to succeed.”

Whether the UFL or NHL would actually benefit from an NFL lockout is yet to be seen.

Sloane Martin is the creator of the women's sports blog Same Size Balls. She is a sports broadcaster and freelance writer. She can be followed on Twitter.

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*This story was updated 3/10/11*

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has responded to Air Canada's threat that they would pull sponsorship if Boston Bruins' defenseman Zdeno Chara was not punished for a hit which took place Tuesday against Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty. The Globe and Mail reports Bettman said: “Air Canada is a great brand as is the National Hockey League and if they decide that they need to do other things with their sponsorship dollars, that’s their prerogative,” when asked if he took the threat seriously.

Bettman said people around the NHL have commended the league for the way they handled the Chara hit.

Slam Sports enitially reported that one of the NHL's largest financial corporate backers sent a letter to the NHL demanding “immediate” and “serious” action against Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara for his hit on Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty. Air Canada, who owns naming rights to Toronto's Air Canada Centre and sponsors other Canadian teams, wrote the commissioner's office after the NHL elected not to punish Chara.

"We are contacting you (Wednesday) to voice our concern over (Tuesday night's) incident involving Max Pacioretty and Zdeno Chara at the Bell Centre in Montreal," wrote Air Canada's director of communications Denis Vandal. "This is following several other incidents involving career-threatening and life-threatening headshots in the NHL recently."

"From a corporate social responsibility standpoint, it is becoming increasingly difficult to associate our brand with sports events which could lead to serious and irresponsible accidents; action must be taken by the NHL before we are encountered with a fatality.

"Unless the NHL takes immediate action with serious suspension to the players in question to curtail these life-threatening injuries, Air Canada will withdraw its sponsorship of hockey."

Air Canada reportedly sent his letter to all six Canadian NHL governors. Vandal continued: "While we support countless sports, arts and community events, we are having difficulty rationalizing our sponsorship of hockey unless the NHL takes responsibily to protect both the players and the integrity of the game."

NHL VP Mike Murphy ruled that Chara's hit had “no basis to impose supplemental discipline.”

While some have suggested Air Canada is simply looking for good publicity, the NHL still has a problem on their hands. The head office has faced criticism for the arbitrary nature of nearly every suspension or fine this season. Many players and personnel have expressed confusion about what hits warrant suspension or fine.

It is extremely unlikely Air Canada would pull sponsorship due to one ruling, but the message should be enough for the NHL office to make an effort to clarify its rulings.

Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter

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*This article was updated 3/5/11

Months ago, we pronounced this thing over. Speaking with a high-ranking Coyotes executive about how things would be different under new ownership, he seemed optimistic. The executive talked about having less financial strains on things not just player related like marketing and sales. “Whew, it’s over,” was his general sentiment.

Eggs counted, now for them to hatch…..

The Goldwater Institute has battled against deals to sell the Coyotes from the beginning. They were either right to question the  Jerry Reinsdorf situation or ran him out of town. It seemed GWI was protecting the people of the City of Glendale. Lucky for the ‘Yotes, another buyer for the NHL-run franchise named Matthew Hulsizer dropped out of the sky with a cape on and offered to save the team.

The deal Hulsizer and the city agreed to sounds a little like something Henry Potter concocted.  The city agrees to sell bonds as part of a $197 million plan to help Hulsizer buy the team for between $160 and $170 million. Glendale would pay $100 million to their new owner for the rights to parking revenue and pay him $97 million more to run Jobing.com arena. In turn, Hulsizer would pay off the NHL and the team’s debt to the league.

“An investment….not a gift”

While it’s a risk, if the deal doesn’t go through, ESPN.com said this week, the city will lose its team and more than $500 million. Enter: Goldwater Institute. The Phoenix Business Journal wrote Friday that Goldwater is threatening a lawsuit if Glendale tries to sell bonds. CEO Darcy Olsen, the Journal said, claims the city already owns the parking rights and should not have to buy them for $100 million. The city says that’s incorrect, but Olsen contends Hulsizer should borrow the money to buy the Coyotes, not be given it by the city.

Your move, commish

The Phoenix Coyotes were supposed to have a buyer by Jan 1. Three months later, things are log jammed due to Goldwater’s insistence that the city is getting a bad deal. Bonds cannot be sold until things are cleared up. Since Goldwater seems unrelenting, it becomes NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s move. The commissioner has not set a timetable for Glendale to work out its deal for the Coyotes, but he may have to soon. The team loses around $20 million per year and the NHL is footing the bill – all while folks in Winnipeg patiently wait in hopes to get their team back.

While ESPN.com’s Scott Burnside questioned  the motives of Goldwater. It appears the city is either guaranteed to lose millions or just likely to lose millions. Bettman has poured his soul into trying to keep this team in Phoenix, but how long can the NHL wait? Certainly not long enough to take another $20 million in debt.

What now?

ESPN's Burnside is reporting Glendale will sue Goldwater Institute alleging the firm interfered with the team's sale by reaching out to potential bond buyers warning them not to purchase the municipal bonds. The NHL hired a former Reinsdorf associate to work with Goldwater to work out the two sides' differences. However, Burnside said, the NHL has reached its breaking point and may have to move quickly if the differences are not resolved.

Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter

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