The FTX Arena is no more.
FTX Arena, the stadium the Miami Heat calls home, will now be called Miami-Dade Arena, the team said Friday:
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The change comes days after a federal bankruptcy judge approved a deal to terminate the naming rights deal between FTX and Miami-Dade County. According to the order made Wednesday, Miami-Dade will stop using the FTX branding and remove all mentions of FTX throughout the arena, including signage atop the building’s roof, basketball court and more.
Terminating the rights deal “shall be effective immediately upon entry of this order,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John T. Dorsey wrote.
Back in November, the county asked for its 2021 deal with FTX to be terminated after the cryptocurrency exchange ended up with billions of dollars’ worth of losses and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried awaiting trial on criminal charges. The county, which owns the arena, negotiated what was meant to be a 19-year, $135 million name rights agreement with FTX that paid the Heat $2 million annually.
According to the Miami Herald, the move was mutual, as FTX’s new corporate leadership also made a request to cancel the naming rights deal.