Miami Heat unveil new arena name after removing FTX reference

The Miami Heat’s home, previously known as FTX Arena, has a new name.

In an announcement Tuesday, the NBA franchise said the Miami, Florida, sports arena will be known as Kaseya Center as part of a new naming rights deal with IT and security management software firm Kaseya. The partnership is worth $117 million over 17 years, according to a resolution passed by Miami-Dade County’s board of commissioners. 

“The collapse of our previous partner caught everyone by surprise, but, in conjunction with Miami-Dade County, we worked efficiently and incredibly quickly to fill our naming rights vacancy with Kaseya, a local, dynamic and growing company creating job opportunities for South Floridians,” Business Operations President Eric Wollworth of the Heat Group said.

Just under three months ago, the Miami Heat and Miami-Dade County ended the naming rights partnership they had with cryptocurrency exchange FTX. 

The Heat and county ended the deal in federal court in November due to FTX’s bankruptcy and began seeking a new sponsor.

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The arena, owned by the county, became known as FTX Arena, in 2021 as part of a 19-year, $135 million agreement with the cryptocurrency exchange.

FTX imploded in late 2022, and the cryptocurrency exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

After the firm’s collapse, founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was slapped with 13 criminal charges. He has entered a not guilty plea.

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On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called the new naming rights deal with Kaseya the first done with a local company since the arena opened. Miami-based Kaseya has also become the “official IT solutions partner” of the Heat.

The Heat’s arena is 20 years old. 

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The arena has also hosted concerts, conferences and other sporting events over the years.

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