The stadium of the Miami Heat will have a new name after the collapse of the FTX

MIAMI, Fla. – The stadium where the Miami Heat play will soon have a new name, after the team and Miami-Dade County decided on Friday to end their relationship with FTX on the same day the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy.

The building had been called the FTX Arena since June 2021, and the 19-year, $135 million sponsorship deal between FTX and the county had just begun.

In a joint statement Friday night, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Heat called the news about FTX “extremely disappointing.”

“Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are taking immediate action to end our business relationships with FTX, and we will work together to find a new naming rights partner for the stadium,” the statement said.

FTX has signed several sports-related deals, including with Mercedes for Formula 1 racing and a sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball, whose umpires carry the company logo. On Friday, Mercedes said it would immediately remove the FTX logos from its Formula 1 cars.

Some of the world’s top athletes also have deals with FTX, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Golden State Warriors shooting guard Stephen Curry.

Miami-Dade County, which owns the stadium and has negotiated the naming rights deal, reached an agreement with FTX in March 2021. The building’s name changed from AmericanAirlines Arena to FTX Arena three months later.

The Heat were to receive $2 million a year as part of the deal. Most of the rest — some $90 million over the life of the agreement — was to be paid to the county, most of it earmarked for fighting gun violence and poverty.

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, ending a disastrous few days for what had been the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange as the week began. The CEO and founder of the company, Sam Bankman-Fried, has resigned.

The beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange, with a deficit of billions of dollars, sought bankruptcy protection after the exchange experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run.