The home of the Miami Heat may have a new name after more than two decades.
Miami-Dade County, which owns the American Airlines Arena, receives little revenue from the $2.1m per year naming-rights deal that was first struck in the 1990s and expires at the end of 2019.
Miami-Dade has accordingly decided to exercise its option to end the Heat’s current exclusive negotiations with the airline in favour of looking at other sponsorship possibilities. County officials estimate that a new deal should be worth at least $6m a year.
“We think it’s a very good opportunity for us to make a lot more money than we make now,” said Miami mayor Carlos Giménez. “I’ve already fielded some calls. There’s a lot of interest in naming the arena.”
American pays $6.5m (€5.7m) a year to sponsor the American Airlines Center, the home of the Dallas Mavericks.
