Miami Heat to Cut Ties With Bankrupt FTX, Rename Arena
Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are ending their arena naming rights deal with bankrupt cryptocurrency firm FTX.
As reported by ESPN, the county, which owns the arena, signed a 19-year, $135 million deal for the bayfront Heat homecourt’s name in 2021. After an initial balloon payment of $14 million, FTX was scheduled to make a $5.5 million payment in January.
The arena will still technically be referred to as FTX Arena for Saturday’s game between the Heat and Charlotte Hornets, but signage and the name will soon come down.
“The reports about FTX and its affiliates are extremely disappointing,” the county and team said in a joint statement. “Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT are immediately taking action to terminate our business relationships with FTX. We will be working together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena.”
FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday after a steep fall in crypto prices left the company unable to cover accounts as customers rushed to withdraw funds.
The deal in Miami was one of a number of sports marketing deals FTX had signed over the past few years, including sponsorship deals with the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards.
Among top athletes who had FTX deals included Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Warriors guard Stephen Curry and tennis star Naomi Osaka.
