MIAMI — The Arena where the Miami Heat After the Miami-Dade County team and Miami-Dade County voted Friday to end their partnership with FTX the day after the bankruptcy filings, play will soon have a new name.
Since June 2021 the building was called FTX Arena. The county and FTX had just begun a $135 million 19-year sponsorship agreement.
The Heat and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava made a joint statement Friday evening, stating that the news about FTX was “extremely disappointing”.
The statement stated that Miami-Dade County, the Miami Heat and FTX are taking immediate action to end their business relationships. We will work together to find a new naming rights partnership for the arena.
FTX entered into a number sports-related contracts, including a deal with Mercedes for Formula One racing as well as a sponsorship agreement with Major League Baseball – whose umpires are adorned with the company’s emblem. Mercedes stated earlier Friday that it will immediately remove FTX logos form its Formula One cars.
Some of the best athletes in the globe also signed FTX agreements, such as Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback. Golden State Warriors Guard Stephen Curry.
The agreement was reached with FTX by Miami-Dade County in March 2021. Three months later, the building’s name was changed from AmericanAirlines Arena into FTX Arena.
The deal provided that the Heat would be entitled to $2 million annually. The majority of the remaining $90 million — approximately $90 millions over the life of the agreement — was to go to the county. However, the vast majority was to be used to combat gun violence and poverty.
Friday’s bankruptcy filing by FTX ended a terrible week for what was once the third-largest crypto exchange in the world. Sam Bankman Fried, the CEO and founder of the company, has resigned.
After the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank ran, the troubled cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy protection.