College football is changing every year, and it seems like we are always seeing new things that we thought we’d never see. Well, another one of those instances happened on Tuesday with the FIU football program. Schools are always looking for new ways to increase revenue, and the Panthers found a unique way to do so. International record artist Pitbull is purchasing the naming rights to FIU stadium, and the new name will be Pitbull Stadium.
“International recording artist Pitbull is purchasing the naming rights to FIU’s football stadium,” Pete Thamel said in a post. “He’s expected to pay the school $1.2 million per year for the next five years to change the name of FIU Stadium to Pitbull Stadium, per FIU board documents. The naming requires finalization later today, including board approval from FIU’s Board of Trustees. Pitbull is the first known musical artist to have a college stadium bear his name. FIU will open the newly named Pitbull Stadium against Central Michigan on Sept. 7.”
Well, like the post said, this is certainly a first, and not something that people expected to see. Pitbull has a lot of ties to the Miami era as he is often called “Mr. 305” which is in reference to the Miami area code. He also attended high school at nearby Coral Park High School.
There is much more to this deal than just the new name at FIU football stadium. Pitbull will be doing a lot for the Panthers in terms of brand exposure, and he will also get to use the stadiums for events throughout the year.
“As part of the deal, according to the documents, Pitbull will create an anthem for FIU, post about the school on social media 12 times a year and appear at one athletics fundraising event per year throughout the term of the agreement,” A report from ESPN stated. “Pitbull will get use of the stadium 10 days per year throughout the term of the deal and the vodka company he owns will be the preferred brand distributed in the stadium. There’s also perks like two reserved suites for all home football games.”
Stadium naming rights are becoming more popular
It is certainly becoming more popular for schools to give up the naming rights to their stadiums, and we have seen this with numerous college stadiums and arenas before. However, most are bought by a company, and not a musical artist. It will be interesting to see if the trend catches on, but it is unlikely.
Bigger schools like Ohio State have even recently made comments about naming rights to their stadiums potentially being on the table.
The new Pitbull Stadium will host six home games during the 2024 season. The stadium holds 22,000 people and has been open since 1995. This deal is good for five years at $6 million total, and Pitbull will then have the option to renew for an additional five years at the same price.
This is a move that will come as a surprise to many, but anything can happen in college football these days.
Follow Us
Subscribe