They go to federal court to remove the FTX brand from the Miami Heat arena

Miami Miami-Dade County has asked a federal bankruptcy court for permission to immediately end its naming rights agreement with FTX and remove the brand from the arena where the NBA’s Miami Heat play.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the county — which owns the arena and negotiated the rights deal with FTX — said continuing to refer to the venue as FTX Arena will only add to the “continued suffering” following the exchange’s collapse. of cryptocurrencies.

“It does not appear that the defaulter will be harmed by the termination of the naming rights agreement,” the county wrote in the petition. “On the other hand, Miami-Dade County continues to provide an invaluable banner for naming rights and other debtor benefits to the detriment of the county’s ability to seek a naming partner for the arena.”

The hearing is scheduled for December. At the moment the FTX sign remains on the building and its name has not been changed.

Tuesday’s motion was no surprise. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, and the county and Heat began the process of terminating their relationship with the company that same day.

The collapse of FTX is tied to the world of sports. Various athletes—including quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tom Bradythe point guard for the Golden State Warriors Stephen CurryHeat forward Udonis Haslem and the tennis player Naomi Osaka— were named as defendants in a class action lawsuit against FTX. The lawsuit argues that their celebrity status makes them guilty of promoting a company that had a failed business model.

FTX went on to have more sports deals, including with Mercedes in Formula One and a sponsorship deal with MLB — umpires wore the company logo last season. Mercedes removed the FTX logo from its car.

The building where Miami plays has been known as FTX Arena since June 2021 after signing a 19-year, $135 million sponsorship deal.

FTX was the third largest cryptocurrency exchange, though it ended up losing billions of dollars and filing for bankruptcy. The Bahamas-based company and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried are under investigation by state and federal authorities.