Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that the plan was to "put the FTX brand" on the Heat's arena for the '20-21 season, though the cryptocurrency exchange can "still pull out of the deal if the NBA declines permission to put the company’s logo on the Heat court, and the county would still receive" $2.5M, according to Douglas Hanks of the MIAMI HERALD. After Miami-Dade commissioners on Friday approved the $135M, 19-year naming-rights deal, the venue will become FTX Arena, its "first name change" since it opened in '99. The agreement "passed on a 10-1 vote." The deal "replaces the Heat’s agreement" with American Airlines, which cost the airline $2M a year and expired at the end of '19. While the Heat negotiated that deal in the '90s, Miami-Dade "exercised its option to take over naming rights" in '18 in exchange for "guaranteeing the team" a $2M yearly payment starting in '20. The Heat’s front office and Miami-Dade had "no answers Friday on when the FTX logo would go on the arena’s roof," or "even when the county-owned building should be called the FTX Arena." County legislation "doesn’t take effect until 10 days after a commission vote." It also is "not clear if the name change can happen ahead of NBA approval" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/27).
FTX name planned to go up on Heat arena before season ends
