EDMONTON — The mayor of Sunrise, Fla., a city near the edge of the Everglades, home to the NHL Panthers and conspicuously named to avoid death, says it’s not that different from Edmonton. They’re two smaller-sized cities punching above their weight on hockey’s biggest stage, says Michael Ryan.
And they’ve both got big malls. “Edmonton is a bit smaller than some of the metropolises but has oversized power in terms of hockey. And that’s how we feel in Sunrise,” Ryan said in an interview.
“It’s a town a lot like Edmonton looking for an opportunity to raise the (Stanley) Cup.” The Panthers host Game 1 of the seven-game Stanley Cup final series against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Sunrise, home to about 100,000, is a 40-minute drive from one of the concrete ribbons that snake out of downtown Miami.
It began as Sunrise Golf Village, incorporated in 1961 by developer Norman Johnson, who built model homes, including a full-scale upside-down house, to draw attention. The village had fewer than 5,000 residents, with retirees whiling away their days hitting balls on a plethora of golf courses. By 1967, it officially became a city.
In 1971 – the same year the Oilers were announced as one of the original franchises in the old World Hockey Association — residents voted in a referendum to change its name to Sunrise. Ryan laughed as he described how the plan was originally to call it Sunset. “We do have amazing sunsets over the Everglades.
And at the time, the.
