Harvick, Tebow Group buys Florida Panthers minor league club

Zawyer Sports & Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in the Charlotte Checkers, the affiliate team of the Florida Panthers in the American Hockey League (AHL), the team announced on Monday.

Zawyer Group partners include NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, NFL linebacker Myles Jack, Carolina Panthers long snapper JJ Jansen and Fox NASCAR analyst Regan Smith.

The transaction was approved at the AHL board meeting last week.

The Checkers have been owned by Michael Kahn, founder of alcoholic beverage distributor Kahn Ventures Inc., since 2006. He will remain with the team as the largest minority partner. The franchise has been affiliated with the Panthers, who just won the Stanley Cup, since September 2020.

The Checkers declined to comment on the financial terms of the transaction or how much equity Kahn retained in the franchise.

Zawyer Sports & Entertainment’s sports facilities include the Jacksonville Icemen, Tahoe Knight Monsters and Savannah Ghost Pirates of the East Coast Hockey League, a league below the AHL, and the Gastonia Baseball Club of the Atlantic League.

The Checkers will continue to play their games at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they have played since 2015-16. Charlotte won its first AHL championship three years later in 2019.

Zawyer Sports & Entertainment’s acquisition of a majority stake in the Charlotte Checkers followed another minor league ownership change in the city. In June, Diamond Baseball Holdings agreed to purchase the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate team, the Charlotte Knights.

(This story was updated in the fifth paragraph after the Checkers declined to comment.)