After a few months of uncertainty caused by the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the Miami Heat’s home now has a new name: the Kaseya Center.
Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald looked at the agreement between Miami-Dade County officials and the Miami-based software company.
“The Miami Heat’s county-owned building that was long known as AmericanAirlines Arena and was briefly called FTX Arena before moving to the temporary labels of The Arena and Miami-Dade Arena has a new name: Kaseya Center,” Chiang wrote. “On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County commissioners unanimously approved the $117 million naming-rights agreement with a booming software company headquartered in the city’s Brickell Avenue district. The 17-year agreement mostly matches the promised payments that disappeared from the arena’s prior sponsor, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. After becoming the arena’s sponsor in 2021, FTX collapsed into bankruptcy late last year.”
The deal is for 17 years and is worth $117 million, virtually the same numbers that FTX had as part of its 19-year, $135 million deal.
FTX collapsed into bankruptcy, resulting in chaos for the Heat. However, the franchise’s temporary troubles pale in comparison to the current woes of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s facing charges that include bank fraud and money laundering.
In contrast to that messy situation, Kaseya is looking for much greater exposure as it seeks to expand. The company employs approximately 4,500 people in Miami, 18 American offices and 14 others across the world.
Kaseya’s planned expansion includes hiring 3,000 people in the Miami area alone, with 900 employees currently working for the company in the city.
In addition to the planned expansion, Kaseya is seeking to make a deeper imprint on the local Miami community. That includes donating to an organization committed to reducing gun violence.
The shift to Kaseya Center was immediate, with the newly named arena’s first event a UFC card on Saturday.
Fans attending the Heat’s regular season finale on Sunday are expected to see the Kaseya logo on the court for the team’s afternoon matchup against the Orlando Magic.
Prior to the deal’s announcement, the facility had been using either Miami-Dade Arena or simply The Arena after the FTX name was scrapped.
Regardless of what name is on the building, the Heat are hoping that the name change offers the team some postseason luck. Right now, the team is likely to compete in the play-in portion of the season.
If the Heat emerge from that battle as a playoff squad, the team still faces a long road to a title. That’s because the Heat will need to win four series to collect the franchise’s fourth NBA title.
Even if that bid falls short, the Heat organization is simply relieved that a source of aggravation over the past few months has come to an end.
