ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Miami Heat's home arena will get new name after FTX collapse

The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics stands for the national anthem before the start of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Miami at the FTX Arena. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics stands for the national anthem before the start of Game 7 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference finals playoff series, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Miami at the FTX Arena. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Share
MIAMI -

The arena where the Miami Heat play will soon have a new name, after the team and Miami-Dade County decided Friday to terminate their relationship with FTX on the same day the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy.

The building had been called FTX Arena since June 2021, and a 19-year, US$135 million sponsorship agreement between FTX and the county was just getting started.

In a joint statement Friday night, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Heat said the news regarding FTX was "extremely disappointing."

"Miami-Dade County and the Miami Heat are immediately taking action to terminate our business relationships with FTX, and we will be working together to find a new naming rights partner for the arena," the statement read.

FTX entered into a number of sports-related deals, including with Mercedes for Formula One racing and a sponsorship deal with Major League Baseball -- whose umpires wear the company's logo. Earlier Friday, Mercedes said it would immediately remove FTX logos from its Formula One cars.

Some of the top athletes in the world also had FTX deals, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

Miami-Dade County, which owns the arena and negotiated the naming rights deal, struck the agreement with FTX in March 2021. The name of the building changed from AmericanAirlines Arena to FTX Arena three months later.

The Heat were to receive US$2 million a year as part of the deal. Most of the rest -- roughly US$90 million over the lifetime of the agreement -- was to be paid to the county, the vast majority of it earmarked toward fighting gun violence and poverty.

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday, ending a disastrous few days for what had been the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world when the week began. The company's CEO and founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has resigned.

The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, short billions of dollars, sought bankruptcy protection after the exchange experienced the crypto equivalent of a bank run.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porsche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Advocates have identified the woman who died this week after being shot by police in Surrey, B.C., as a South American refugee who was raising a young daughter.

Provincial police investigating the death of a cat that was allegedly set on fire in Orillia earlier this week released surveillance video of a person of interest in the case.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

Stay Connected