Florida Panthers' Nearly Empty Arena Fuels Relocation Rumors

This is not the kind of crowd that will get you pumped up for a home game.

The picture above is from warm-ups prior to Monday night's Florida Panthers-Ottawa Senators matchup at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun also tweeted a photo depicting the attendance at the start of the game:

After the first period, TSN's Gord Miller showed the venue was still almost completely empty:

As if it were possible, here's an even less flattering view of the crowd:

Later, Garrioch tweeted that the official attendance was only at 7,311, the lowest in franchise history. What's worse is that the real number of people at the game was probably even smaller.

The Panthers have struggled throughout the history of the franchise, and it's no surprise that a cold-weather sport is unpopular in a warm climate. Attendance like this is going to add even more fuel to the relocation rumors.

[Twitter, h/t CBS Sports]