‘Uno, do’, tres, cuatro’… or rather seis millones! International recording artist Pitbull has purchased the naming rights to Florida International’s football stadium. The FIU board of trustees voted yesterday to approve a five-year deal to give the name Pitbull Stadium to what’s currently known as FIU Stadium.
$1.2 million per year for five years
Pitbull will pay the school $1.2 million per year for five years, according to the documents tied to the vote. The rapper, singer and businessman, whose name is Armando Christian Perez, is also known as “Mr. 305” — a nod to Miami’s area code — and attended Miami Coral Park High School.
“For me, what it boils down to is, Miami is always known for being underdogs, no matter what we do and what level we take it to,” Pitbull said during the official announcement. “… Being underdogs is what I always felt about FIU — fighting, clawing their way to just be seen, to be recognized whether it be from education, business, through sports.
First-of-its-kind deal
The Miami-based university becomes the first to have a college athletics building named after a musician. As part of the deal, 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.
Pitbull will also get use of the stadium 10 days per year and the vodka company he owns will be the preferred brand distributed in the stadium. The artist will be able to renew the agreement for five additional years.
Involvement in the brand
The stadium has a seating capacity of 20,000, according to the FIU website, and opened in 1995. Pitbull will also be involved with FIU’s efforts in the name, image and likeness space, athletic director Scott Carr said.
“This is a historic day for FIU athletics to uniquely partner with a world-renowned artist and amazing person who truly values relationships and his community,” Carr said. “Armando’s financial support is program-changing, but him providing a microphone to amplify FIU will be even more beneficial to growing our brand.”
The future of football branding
Get ready to see more branding on the field too! Last June, the NCAA approved a change that allows schools to sell corporate advertisements on football fields for regular-season games.
