WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Over the last few years, several venues have changed their name. Some making the change chasing sponsorship dollars, others in an effort to revitalize and reinvigorate, and others because of a large financial donation.
1) American Airlines Arena - Miami
In March of 2021, the longtime home of the Miami Heat is received a new name. Miami-Dade County finalized a new 19-year agreement with FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, to rename American Airlines Arena to FTX Arena.
"This is a historic investment for Miami-Dade -- $90 million over 19 years that we will put to use to tackle some of our most pressing challenges and build a healthier, safer community," Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a statement Friday. "We're grateful to FTX for their investment in Miami-Dade and proud to bring this partnership home."
2) BB&T Center - Sunrise
In September of 2021, the arena announced it would temporarily be known as the FLA Live Arena as it searched for a naming rights partner. BB&T (ironically now known as Truist) decided not to extend the agreement.
The venue has previously been known as the National Car Rental Center, Office Depot Center, and BankAtlantic Center.
3) CityPlace - West Palm Beach
In April 2019, as a part of a reimaging and multimillion-dollar investment effort of Related Properties, CityPlace changed its name to Rosemary Square and in Nov. 2021 it became The Square.
“We are embracing how our community (and our team!) have nicknamed our neighborhood, “The Square” and excitingly simply shortening our name,” said spokesperson Daniella Turchin.
4) Downtown At The Gardens - Palm Beach Gardens
In December of 2019, the venue changed the property's name to Downtown Palm Beach Gardens.
"We are renaming Downtown at the Gardens to Downtown Palm Beach Gardens,"said Nina Rogers, Vice President of Specialty Leasing for ShopCore Properties. "We look at this name change as an opportunity to celebrate the city that has supported and loved this shopping center since its inception, and we want to provide the people of Palm Beach Gardens with their own version of 'Downtown.'"
5) Hard Rock Stadium - Miami Gardens
In August 2016, the team sold the naming rights to Hard Rock Cafe Inc. for $250 million over 18 years.
The venue has previously been named Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Land Shark Stadium and Sun Life Stadium, as well as Joe Robbie Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium and briefly New Miami Stadium.
6) iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre- West Palm Beach
In Jan. of 2020, Live Nation announced that Coral Sky Amphitheatre, located at the South Florida Fairgrounds in suburban West Palm Beach, has been renamed iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre.
The 20,000 seat venue has gone by six different names over the past 25 years, and has been known as Coral Sky Amphitheatre four times.
1996: Coral Sky Amphitheatre
2000: Mars Music Amphitheatre
2002: Coral Sky Amphitheatre
2003: Sound Advice Amphitheatre
2008: Cruzan Amphitheatre
2015: Coral Sky Amphitheatre
2015: Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre
2017: Coral Sky Amphitheatre
2020: iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
"We view this partnership with Live Nation as much more than a branding initiative. This is one more way we support our community," said Michael Miller, President and CEO of iTHINK Financial, in a statement.
7) South Florida Science Center and Aquarium - West Palm Beach
In Nov. of 2021, after a $20 million expansion gift from Howard and Wendy Cox the center changed its name to the Cox Science Center and Aquarium.
