The Miami Heat will no longer play at FTX Arena after a federal bankruptcy judge retroactively terminated a naming rights deal between Miami-Dade County and a cryptocurrency company.
The companies originally agreed to a 19-year, $135 million deal to rename the building from American Airlines Arena to FTX Arena in 2021. Sam Bankman-Fried, the team, and the county requested exclusion from the deal in November.
“The reports regarding FTX and its affiliates are very disappointing,” said Heat. said in a joint statement with Miami-Dade County.“Miami-Dade County and Miami Heat are taking steps to end their deal with FTX immediately and will work together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena.”
That request was officially approved on Wednesday, removing all FTX billboards from the arena.
Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and other celebrities involved in FTX controversy
The FTX scandal spans multiple industries, impacting not just where the Heat play their home games, but the sports world as well.
Star players like Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry could face potential violations after appearing in various FTX ads before the collapse. . Investors have also reportedly sued many of FTX’s celebrity backers, including Brady, Curry and tennis star Naomi Osaka. Court documents later showed that Brady, his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft owned significant stakes in the now-bankrupt company.
Lakers also play in crypto named arena
The Heat aren’t the only teams to receive cryptocurrency.
The Los Angeles Lakers changed the name of their home arena from Staples Center to Cryptocomm Arena around the same time the Heat switched to FTX Arena in 2021. The deal is for him for 20 years and he’s $700 million.
No word yet on what the Heat’s home arena will be called, as the Miami season continues.
