MIAMI, Fla. – Miami-Dade County Arena, formerly known as FTX Arena where the Miami Heat play their home games near Bayside Marketplace, has a new name.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon sponsored a resolution to rename the venue as the Kaseya Center, which was cosponsored by Commission Chair Oliver Gilbert III, and drew unanimous support from their colleagues during their meeting last week.
Miami-Dade wiped out the FTX name after the company filed for bankruptcy and its founder and CEO Sam Bankman was indicted in New York on a slew of charges linked to his cryptocurrency exchange.
Before the FTX deal, the building had been referred to as AmericanAirlines Arena since its opening in 1999. The airline giant, which has a hub in Miami, said in 2019 that it would not renew its deal past the expiration date of Jan. 1, 2020. The airline’s name remained on the building until 2021.
The county had been seeking a new company since the fallout with FTX when arena and Hardemon suggested Kaseya LLC, a software company based in Miami.
According to the agreement, the company will pay $117.37 million over 17 years, much of the amount for the county, and the Heat will get $2 million a year as part of the deal.
Hardemon, the commissioner for District 3 which includes Brownsville, Liberty City and Overtown, said the new partnership will help curb gun violence among youths in the Black community through the Peace and Prosperity Plan.
“The partnership with Kaseya furthers our commitment to combating gun violence and poverty by funding the Peace and Prosperity Plan,” said Hardemon. “The plan provides at-risk children with meaningful experiences and opportunities to explore a myriad of career paths.”
Hardemon said though the arena is not part of his District 3 it has a countywide impact, including the net revenues received from the naming rights agreement and reserved for the Peace and Prosperity Plan.
After deductions for onetime expenses for a finder’s fee and other expenses, including payments of $2 million annually to the Heat, the county would receive net revenues totaling $83,275,000 over the term of the agreement, to be deposited in the Anti-gun Violence and Prosperity Initiatives Trust Fund, which is $3.546 million more than the previous FTX deal.
According to its website, Kaseya delivers technologies that empower organizations to seamlessly manage IT infrastructure, secure networks and manage service operations.
The company has 48,000 customers in more than 25 countries, and approximately 4,500 employees.
The Miami headquarters of Kaseya is home to over 900 employees spanning four prominent buildings in the Brickell and Downtown Miami area, and the company is committed to investing significantly over the next several years to increase its employee base in the area with an addition of more than 3,000 full-time positions.
Kaseya is the presenting sponsor of the Miami HEAT Bounce Back from Cancer initiative, which has raised $6.4 million since 2019 for cancer research.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the collapse of FTX left the county in a tight spot with officials having to act fast to find a new partner.
“We are proud to close this deal with a locally based company for the first time in the history of the arena,” said Levine Cava. “Since Kaseya relocated its headquarters to Miami, it has demonstrated a real commitment to invest in our economy and our local talent by opening the door to the jobs of the future. This deal will not only allow us to continue investing in critical crime prevention programs, it will also strengthen our brand as a global, diverse and future-ready community.”
Eric Woolworth, president of the HEAT Group’s Business Operations, applauded the new deal.
“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,” said Woolworth.
Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola thanked the county for the partnership and said his company will continue its commitment to invest in the community.
“As a Miami-based company with approximately 5,000 employees, Kaseya is excited to partner with Miami-Dade County and the Miami HEAT for the naming of one of our community’s iconic buildings,” said Voccola.
“Miami is our home, and having Kaseya showcased globally as synonymous with Miami is something we’re very proud of, and will provide significant value to our customers and employees. Miami-Dade County has provided so much opportunity for our company to grow and prosper."
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