We all know the Miami Heat had FTX‘s name on its stadium for a while. The two entities signed a 19-year deal in 2021 for the cryptocurrency exchange company to acquire the naming rights for the Heat‘s stadium in Miami. The deal was reportedly worth a whopping $135 million. They called it “FTX Arena.”
However, it didn’t last long when FTX’s CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, decided to declare the company bankrupt. Many wondered where it all came from all of a sudden. For context, FTX was being investigated after almost $1 billion of customer funds disappeared from their accounts out of nowhere. This led to a class-action lawsuit filed against Bankman-Fried.
🚨Sam Bankman Fried was just arrested in the Bahamas by the Royal Bahamas Police Force! Faces “likely extradition.” pic.twitter.com/W4Y8vgPkY3
— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) December 12, 2022
Along with the 30-year-old entrepreneur, celebrities including the likes of Stephen Curry, Shaquille O’Neal, and Naomi Osaka were also being sued in the $32 billion deception scheme. The main reason for this would be the fact that they advertised FTX to the world. Amid all this, the FTX controversy has taken yet another drastic turn. According to various reports, Bankman-Fried has been arrested today in the Bahamas.
Is there a new name for the Miami Heat stadium?
Although his arrest will bring about plenty of controversies, Miami Heat fans will be only concerned about one thing. The naming rights of their arena have been in high demand. This isn’t a big deal considering the Heat are one of the high-profile NBA teams in the league. When the FTX controversy emerged, there were rumors of an offer to bag the naming rights of their arena from a popular adult film website.
Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT have released the following statement pic.twitter.com/ERZo1IsZ2o
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 12, 2022
The Miami Heat organization announced in a statement to the world that they would be ending the partnership with FTX. “Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are immediately taking action to terminate our business with relationships with FTX,” the statement mentioned. However, it looks like the Heat franchise hasn’t landed another naming partner deal just yet.
With that said, it is quite surprising that the Heat arena still has “FTX Arena” stamped on the front of the stadium, as well as on the basketball court. However, Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest today might be an event that causes them to speed up the process of finding a new naming partner.
