Pitbull Secures Naming Rights for Florida International University Stadium

Pitbull Secures Naming Rights for Florida International University Stadium Artist/DJ and alumnus Armando P rez grew up blocks from the school's campus By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Tuesday, August 20, 2024 - 7:00 am

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Having music stars performing in sports stadiums has become routine, but naming the venues for them?

Armando Pitbull P rez appeared at several stadiums on his 2024 Globalization tour, including the Forest Hills tennis stadium in Queens, NY. More recently, a stadium was named for him: Florida International University in Miami announced this week that, under a new naming-rights deal, the former FIU stadium will be recast as Pitbull Stadium.

The deal calls for Pitbull's moniker to remain atop the venue for a decade, with the artist/DJ paying a reported $1.2 million per year for the first five years, according to the Washington Post. In addition, Pitbull will visit the campus for a variety of activity and events, including creation of a song inspired by the school, as well as social-media and merchandising collaborations.

Celebrating the naming of Pitbull Stadium are (from left) Florida International University Director, Athletics, Scott Carr; Armando Christian P rez (Pitbull); FIU President Kenneth A. Jessell; and EVP/Co-Owner, South Dade Kia Miami & Homestead, Lucy Benedetti.

According to Variety, Van Wagner College, affiliated with the giant Van Wagner sports- and entertainment-marketing agency that has been FIU Athletics' third-party multimedia-rights partner since 2016, assisted with the collaboration. The efforts also helped attract additional partners to further enhance the partnership: South Dade Kia, for example, will be the presenting sponsor of the field: South Dade Kia Field at Pitbull Stadium.

What we're doing here is groundbreaking, Pitbull said in a statement. We're making history. This is history in the making. You're going to see that every other university is going to want to do the same thing. The difference is, we don't do this for propaganda; we do it from the heart. We do it because it's meaningful. We do it because I'm from the crib. I'm [Miami area code] 305. I'm from the bottom. This is my backyard.

The school is close to home for the Miami-based rap icon; he attended high school just blocks from FIU's campus and later went on to earn a degree from the university.

This relationship will allow people who have yet to be exposed to FIU a chance to see what the university does in terms of research, in terms of education, FIU Athletic Director Scott Carr told the school newspaper. For anyone who had not before heard of FIU, this will give them a chance to imagine that this might be a school for them or their kids.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/08/20/pitbull-secures-naming-rights-f...
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