Miami-Dade Has the Power to Remove the FTX Name on the Heat Arena
A federal bankruptcy court terminated the naming rights agreement between FTX and Miami-Dade County on Wednesday, allowing the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange’s brand to be removed from the arena where the NBA’s Miami Heat play.
The directive indicates that all FTX signage and advertising at the arena will soon—likely starting very soon—be removed. The Heat and the county have not yet provided any information regarding the start date of the procedure.
That is going to take a lot of work. The basketball court, many entrances, the roof of the arena, the polo shirts worn by security guards, and even many of the electronic cards used by employees to enter the building all bear the FTX logo.
Terminating the rights deal “shall be effective immediately upon entry of this order,” Judge John T. Dorsey wrote.
The county asked for the naming rights deal to be terminated in November, saying at the time that continuing to refer to the building as FTX Arena will only add to the “enduring hardships” brought on by the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
The county, which owns the arena, and FTX agreed to a 19-year, $135 million naming rights agreement. That agreement, which became effective in June 2021, called for The Heat to receive $2 million a year.
The following payment from FTX to the county was scheduled to be $5.5 million on Jan. 1.
FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, but it suffered enormous losses before turning to bankruptcy after a spectacular crash that lasted only a few days. Estimates of the losses range from $8 billion to $10 billion.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the company’s founder, was detained in the Bahamas last month and then extradited to the United States. to face criminal charges in what U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has called “one of the biggest frauds in American history.” With a trial set for October, Bankman-Fried has been granted bail and been released.
News source: basketballnews.com
