Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX is set to win a $135 million naming-rights deal for the sports arena belonging to the Miami-based American professional basketball team – Miami Heat.
According to a recent report, the deal, which is organized by the Miami-Dade County Commission as it controls the naming-rights to the arena, will be finalized on Friday, March 26th.
Miami-Dade County will officially approve the agreement on Friday, changing the arena’s name from AmericanAirlines Arena, which had been its name for over twenty years, to FTX Arena. The iconic American airplane silhouette on the arena’s roof will be promptly stripped.
After the deal is finalized, Miami-Dade will receive an undisclosed amount from FTX yearly, and Miami Heat can sell the other sponsorships in the arena. The funds will be used for combating gun violence and poverty in the region, the report said.
The County controls the entire revenue gotten from the naming rights with an agreement to pay Miami Heat $2 million annually while getting to keep a significant portion of the sum.
This arrangement was based on an agreement between the two parties earlier in 2018 that Miami-Dade would find the arena’s next sponsor.
The scheduled Friday meeting will entail the County Commission voting on the sponsorship agreement to sell “naming rights and other benefits … for the Arena.”
Once the deal goes through, it will be a massive milestone for the cryptocurrency industry as FTX will be the first cryptocurrency exchange to sponsor a major U.S. professional sports arena.
Miami is fast becoming a hub for several innovative technologies, including blockchain. The cryptocurrency space is witnessing an increase in interest shown by the city’s residents and even officials.
Just a few months ago, the city’s mayor, Francis Suarez, implied that he might convert a percentage of Miami’s treasury reserve to bitcoin.
A few weeks later, he announced that the city would be adopting the digital currency for several use cases, including the payment of employees’ salaries, settlement of fees, and taxes.
The mayor’s plans automatically set Miami up as the first city to have a percentage of its Treasury Fund in bitcoin.
