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With the ‘American Airlines Arena’ being the home of successful NBA franchise, Miami Heat since 2000, the name of the arena reportedly could be up for a change soon.
It is rumored that cryptocurrency exchange FTX is looking to sponsor the Miami based NBA team and thereby commit their name to the Heat’s home arena.
The news broke in the Miami Herald yesterday where it was noted that:
“Miami-Dade County is getting closer to signing a cryptocurrency company to replace American Airlines as the naming-rights sponsor of the Miami Heat’s downtown arena, according to several sources — a deal that would deliver the NBA its first venue tied to bitcoin and other electronic currencies.”
“Sources identified the company as FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange with offices in Hong Kong and San Francisco. Internet breadcrumbs suggest FTX is ready to put its name on an event venue. In February, someone in Florida registered ftxarena.com, and last month also brought FTX Arena accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.”
The naming rights of the arena were purchased by American Airlines back in 1999 for approximately $42 million over 20 years.
“Finding a new sponsor for the American Airlines Arena has been an uphill climb for Miami-Dade, sparking tension with the Heat in recent months,” the Miami Herald article reported.
“At the end of 2019, the county asked the Heat for a delay in paying $2 million owed in guaranteed naming-rights revenue in hopes of landing a sponsor that could cover the cost. Superlative was close to landing a California mortgage lender, Network Capital, as a naming-rights sponsor.”
However, at the time, the deal with Network Capital fell through. It appears now that the Heat have finally found a new sponsor with FTX.
FTX claimed interest in the sponsorship seems to part of a larger strategy in popularizing cryptocurrency and DeFi from businesses and investments leading to further strengthening of mainstream adoption of the industry. It is undoubtedly game-time for crypto.
On court, the Miami Heat have been on a great run with winning nine out of their last 10 games which currently sees them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Miami will play the Orlando Magic on Sunday evening.