Zawyer Sports & Entertainment has acquired a controlling interest in the Charlotte Checkers, the Florida Panthers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the team announced on Monday.
The Zawyer group’s partners include NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, NFL linebacker Myles Jack, Carolina Panthers long snapper J.J. Jansen and Fox NASCAR analyst Regan Smith.
The transaction was approved at the AHL’s board of governors meeting last week.
The Checkers have been owned by Michael Kahn, who is the founder of alcoholic beverage distributor Kahn Ventures Inc., since 2006. He will remain with the team as its largest minority partner. The franchise has been affiliated with the Panthers, who are coming off a Stanley Cup championship, since September 2020.
The Checkers declined to comment on the financial terms of the transaction and how much equity Kahn retained in the franchise.
Zawyer Sports & Entertainment’s sports assets include the Jacksonville Icemen, Tahoe Knight Monsters and Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL, a tier 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, N.C., 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 controlling interest in the Charlotte Checkers follows another minor league ownership change in the city. In June, Diamond Baseball Holdings agreed to purchase the Chicago White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights.
(This story has been updated in the fifth paragraph after the Checkers declined to comment, and in the sixth paragraph to adjust the name of the ECHL.)