American Airlines, the company whose name graces the home arena for the NBA's Miami Heat, announced on Thursday that it will not be renewing its naming rights for the South Florida venue, which is set to expire at the end of 2019.
“American Airlines is proud to call Miami home,” the airline told WPTV on Thursday. “We are not seeking to renew naming rights for the arena, but remain the official airline of the Miami Heat and continue to invest in programs that support the community, where 13,500 American team members live and work. We wish Miami-Dade County well in their search for a new sponsor.”
With the airline no longer having its name on the arena, the facility will be named after a new company. One bid has already been made Thursday afternoon; a once-taboo industry is seeking to broach another barrier and appear more mainstream.
BangBros, a Miami-based adult film production company, was quick to officially submit a $10 million bid to lay claim to naming rights for the home of the Heat. The company tweeted out an official statement a few hours ago. The company claims it wants to name the arena the BangBros Center, or BBC for short.
While rumors swirled around the internet that this was merely a publicity stunt, NBC Sports' Jessica Kleinschimidt confirmed on twitter that this is indeed a legitimate bid.
Even though that hefty bid is legitimate, the Miami Heat are most likely not going to go through with this. As progressive as the NBA is, it would hard to sell family ticket packages to the “BBC.”
This isn't the first time that a taboo industry has considered naming rights for a stadium, as a marijuana dispensary in Denver has looked into putting its name on the Broncos' stadium.
Props to the porn company for creating quite a buzz about this bid, but despite the Heat not releasing any official statement on the matter as of Thursday night, the chances of this being a successful bid are slim to none.
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