American Airlines' naming-rights deal for the Heat's arena officially expires on Jan. 1getty images
The Heat's home venue will "still be called AmericanAirlines Arena even when the existing naming-rights deal" expires Jan. 1, according to a source cited by Anthony Chiang of the MIAMI HERALD. The "current plan is for it to remain AmericanAirlines Arena until a new sponsor is in place." Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez' administration "officially ran out of time earlier this month to have a new naming agreement approved by the County Commission" before '20. Since the county was "not able to find a new title sponsor before the existing deal with American Airlines expires Jan. 1, it will need to use county dollars to pay the Heat" up to $2M in '20 to "cover the missing naming-rights revenue." The first $500,000 quarterly payment to the team is due March 31, which is "covering the first three months of the year." In '18, Miami-Dade County "chose to take on the naming-rights talks for the arena itself," and under that agreement, the county must pay the Heat $2M per year "even if a new sponsor isn't in place or spends less." The county's "hope is that higher fees from the new naming-rights deal will make up for what it would have earned" in early '20 under the existing payment structure with American Airlines (MIAMI HERALD, 12/28).
