A US federal court has agreed to a request by Miami-Dade County and FTX to end a naming rights deal worth $135 million for the exchange at the sporting venue of the NBA basketball team – Miami Heat. According to the ruling, FTX Arena would no longer be referred to as such, and all the branding containing the logos of the bankrupt exchange would be removed.
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Judge John Dorsey wrote on January 11 that the naming rights shall be effected ‘‘immediately upon the entry of (the) order.’’ That means the FTX branding would have to be removed from, among other places, the entrance of the sporting venue, on the polo shirts worn by the officials, and on the electronic cards for accessing the venue, which according to experts, would be a big undertaking.
Enter Miami-Dade Arena
Miami Heat posted on Twitter on January 14 that the new name for the former FTX Arena would change to Miami – Dade Arena until a new partner comes on board.
‘‘Effective immediately, Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat have agreed that, until such time as there is a new naming rights partner, to refer to the arena as Miami-Dade Arena. The removal of the facility’s existing signage and the changeover of branding elements will be ongoing in the coming weeks.’’
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FTX and Miami – Dade Country – which owns the arena – agreed, effective June 2021, to extend the naming rights to the exchange for 19 years, where FTX would pay $2 million annually. The last payment was supposed to be $5.5 million on January 1 before the business went under.
FTX filed for bankruptcy in November last year, collapsing with an estimated $10 billion worth of investors’ funds. Its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was later arrested and extradited to the US to face criminal charges relating to money laundering and financial fraud.
