Miami-Dade County and Miami Heat Cuts Naming Rights Ties with Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX for Miami Arena
Miami-Dade County and the NBA’s Miami Heat have ended their partnership with the insolvent cryptocurrency exchange FTX and are now looking for a new naming rights partner for their downtown Miami arena.
The statement followed the FTX group’s CEO resignation and bankruptcy filing in the US earlier on Friday, which marked the shocking demise of one of the biggest and most influential figures in the cryptocurrency business.
Miami-Dade County and Miami Heat stated in a joint statement on Friday night that they will cooperate to find a new naming rights partner for the stadium, which was only rebranded as FTX Arena last year, and that they find the reports concerning FTX to be “very upsetting.”
Like other cryptocurrency businesses, FTX has spent a lot of money sponsoring athletes. For the renaming of the Miami arena in June 2021, FTX reportedly signed a $135 million, 19-year contract. This deal would have also included $2 million annually to the Miami Heat.
A five-year agreement was also reached in 2021 for Major League Baseball to designate FTX as its official cryptocurrency exchange. FTX is also the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s authorized
With the University of California, Berkeley negotiating a $17.5 million, 10-year naming rights arrangement for the school’s football stadium in 2021, even college sports have connections to FTX.
AmericanAirlines Arena Seeks to Change name to a Cryptocurrency Exchange – FTX Arena
Cryptocurrency is heading our way! In a recent announcement, AmericanAirlines Arena will be changing its name to FTX Arena. FTX is a startup cryptocurrency exchange that started in Hong Kong in 2018 and as of 2020, it has been operating in the United States.
In 2019, AmericanAirlines stated that they would no longer have the naming rights to the arena leaving room for Miami-Dade County to negotiate the naming rights.
According to a Miami Herald report, during a county commission meeting on Friday, a tentative $135 million with a 19 year contract has been agreed to with FTX. This also means that the current name residents will no longer be in contract. This pending approval will be the crypto industry’s first leg in arena sponsorships. Also in the agreement, Mayor Daniella Cava received approval for a $90 million share to be allocated towards addressing income equality and gun violence.
The next step for FTX is approval from the NBA for the company’s branding to appear on networks, signage, stadium exteriors, etc. If the logo is not approved, FTX has the ability to withdraw their request at any time.
According to the South Florida Business Journal, there was a few who voted against the proposal; including Commissioner René Garcia concluding that the public did not get an advance notice about the proposal. A county resident also came forward stating, “cryptocurrencies tend to evade regulation and abet money laundering.”
FTX CEO Sam Bankman stated “the entire FTX family is thrilled to launch this partnership with Miami-Dade County and the Heat. Through this partnership, FTX isn’t just putting our name on an iconic building. We are committed to providing value to the growing and diverse community in Miami-Dade over the next two decades.”
A Bay Walk Could Finally Extend Behind the AA Arena
According to The Next Miami the City of Miami is designing a bay walk to extend behind the AmericanAirlines Arena in Park West, perhaps even finally opening up Parcel B, which for years has been closed to the public even though it was set aside years ago as a city park. Commissioner Ken Russell supposedly told The Next Miami:
The details/layout of the proposed design will complement what was already constructed at Museum Park. Scope of work will include lighting, benches, trash receptacles and bike racks, installation of pavers, landscaping, irrigation, and drainage improvements along the seawall. The City just received 90% design plans for review and approval.
Although this definitely looks like a project the commissioner would undertake (one of his chief aids, Eleazar David Melendez, was even substantially involved in the effort to realize Parcel B to as a public park) it is a little strange that the first official announcement of it would come with a quick quote and highly incomplete set of plans published on The Next Miami. A request has been submitted to Russell/Melendez for comment.
