Home Of Miami Heat AmericanAirlines Arena Renamed FTX Arena Following 19-Year $135 Million Naming Rights Deal

AmericanAirlines Arena, home of the NBA’s Miami Heat in Downtown Miami’s Park West neighborhood, has officially been renamed the FTX Arena. The American Airlines signage has now been removed following the Heat’s Round 1 playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The name change is part of a 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal with cryptocurrency exchange FTX which was approved by Miami-Dade County Commissioners in March 2021.

As per the agreement the Heat, who have 19-years remaining on their lease with the arena, will receive an annual payment of $2 million for the naming rights from Miami-Dade County. FTX branding will also be placed on the Miami Heat’s website and digital platforms, promotions, contests and community engagement. American Airlines will retain a marketing agreement with the Heat.

Miami-Dade County has also entered into a partnership with FTX to collaborate on technology and Fintech education and has committed an additional $5 million in contributions to the county. Miami-Dade County must also reserve a portion of the naming rights deal proceeds to help combat local gun violence and poverty.

The deal represents the first partnership between a cryptocurrency company and a major American professional sports franchise. The partnership further advances Miami quest to be a cryptocurrency and blockchain hub and the Cryptocity.

AmericanAirlines Arena is located at 601 Biscayne Blvd. and first opened on New Years 1999 after the Heat moved from the Miami Arena. The arena was designed by Arquitectonica and 360 Architecture and had a total construction cost of $213 million. The spectator capacity for a basketball game is 19,600. The Miami Heat have appeared in five NBA Finals since 2010 and have won three NBA Championship titles since they were founded in 1988.

FTX US is a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange led by CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. FTX operates two different exchanges, FTX (ftx.com) and FTX US (ftx.us). FTX is an international cryptocurrency exchange that is does operate in the US and supports more cryptocurrencies than FTX US. FTX offers innovative products including industry-first derivatives, options, volatility products and leveraged tokens. FTX pursues its mission, led by philanthropic founder Sam Bankman-Fried, to turn revenue into charitable giving which led to the launch of the FTX Foundation in which 1% of all FTX net fees are donated to select charities. FTX US supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Sushi, Tron, Tether, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and other cryptocurrencies.

Miami has quickly become the Cryptocity, and is becoming a cryptocurrency and blockchain hub led by Mayor Francis Suarez. Mayor Suarez’s goals include turning Miami into a Bitcoin mining hub by using the city’s nuclear power capability. He is also working towards allowing the use of Bitcoin to pay for tax and public services, as well as a salary option for city employees. Mayor Suarez set his focus on a Miami tech boom following the COVID-19 pandemic and has been working to attract the top tech and investment firms from San Francisco, Silicon Valley and New York City. The effort has paid off shown by taxable property values in Miami having doubled over the past decade as high-paying jobs have been attracted to the weather, beaches, restaurants, nightlife, low-tax and high-quality of life.

For a background on cryptocurrency and blockchain and its application to real estate check out the PROFILE Insider: The Crypto Revolution Versus The Evolution of Blockchain Part 1.

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Some Outraged Downtown Residents Have Made A Move Against The City of Miami For Ultra & Formula 1 Proposal

Not everyone can always be happy, no sooner then Miami had made strides on the world stage to host the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in the streets of Downtown Miami, had a group of 11 residents moved against the city. Some Downtown Miami residents have teamed up and sought legal council combatting the city hosting Ultra Music Festival in Downtown's Bayfront Park and the city's bid to bring a Formula 1 race to the streets of Downtown and PortMiami as early as October 2019. The residents, who live in 50 Biscayne and Epic, have sent a Cease and Desist letter to the city. The proposed 2.57-mile course would run through Downtown Miami's Biscayne Boulevard, American Airlines Arena and PortMiami. The letter alleges that both the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and "mega events" such as Ultra Music Festival and Rolling Loud Festival, all violate the City of Miami's noise ordinance, which in turn negatively affects the health of nearby residents and their property values. 

Ultra Music Festival has garnered much attention for the city of Miami, helping aid to boost property values and tourism. If looking at cities such as Monaco, property values on the race course have been boosted by popularity and a condo-hotel such as Epic benefits greatly from major events in near proximity. The noise ordinance clause has been used against other Downtown venues including the nightclubs behind Marquis Residences, Ten Museum, One Thousand Musuem, 900 Biscayne and Marina Blue. The difference between the two cases is one targets events which bring millions of dollars of benefit to the city and its taxpayers, typically operating during the day, while the clubs in question operate at late night hours with resident complaints coming between the hours of 2 am and 6 am with private prosperity. 

Ultra Music Festival was sold out in 2018 with a record-breaking attendance of 165,000 and over 30 million online streams. Ultra Music Festival is renegotiating their lease for hosting the festival in Bayfront Park, with Miami commissioners asking for rent to rise to $2 million. Ultra Music Festival currently pays around $1 million annually to host the festival at the site. Formula 1 does not yet have a deal in place, although city commissioners approved the race in a unanimous 5-0 vote in May 2018. Formula One has 500 million global fans and currently hosts 21 races across five continents which are broadcast to over 1.8 billion viewers. Hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix's economic impact on Montreal is around $65 million and Formula 1 claims the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix could produce over $700 million annually for the city. Set-up time could take up to 3 months while clean up would take 2-3 weeks. The city expects to be sued over the matter.