Pitbull Makes History Buying Naming Rights For FIU’s Football Stadium
Mr. 305 is showing love to his favorite city! Pitbull has made history by purchasing the naming rights for FIU’s football stadium.
The Miami-native is now the first musician to have a college athletic building named after him! It couldn’t have happened in a better city. Now, he’s got some big things planned for his stadium.
Pitbull Buys Naming Rights For FIU’s Football Stadium
Students at Florida International University in Miami, Florida are going to have a very unique experience watching football games for the next 5 years. What was once known as FIU Stadium will now be “Pitbull Stadium” after purchasing the naming rights for $1.2 million per year for the next 5 years, per ESPN.
Few artists put on for their city like Pitbull does. It’s not just calling himself “Mr. 305” (Miami’s area code) but he actually attended Miami Coral Park High School. He doesn’t just claim to be about the Miami life, he lives it, and he was raised in it. Now, he’s showing love to the local school with this new purchase.
Pitbull tells ESPN, “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…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. So when this idea came about, it came about just like a Miami-Dade County, 305 idea would come about–nobody would believe in it…All we had to do was, just like we say in Miami, take it to the house.”
What Will Pitbull Do For FIU’s Football Stadium?
They’ve had countless football players go pro and even had some of the best college football teams of all-time. The 2001 National Championship team featured big names like Ken Dorsey, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Jeremy Shockey, Andre Johnson, Vince Wilfork, Jonathan Vilma, Kellen Winslow II, Sean Taylor, Antrel Rolle, and more! That’s unbelievable! It’s no wonder that FIU would be an underdog when they have to compete with that in their own market.
Not only did Pitbull buy the rights to FIU’s football stadium, he will also create an anthem for the school, post on social media about the school, and will attend at least one athletics fundraising event per year, per ESPN. He’s getting the most out of the deal and his vodka company will also be the preferred brand distributed in the stadium and he’ll have two suites for all of their home games. That’s enough for the whole family!
FIU athletic director Scott Carr tells ESPN, “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. Armando’s financial support is program-changing, but him providing a microphone to amplify FIU will be even more beneficial to growing our brand.” For the record, Pitbull’s real name is Armando Christian Pérez.
The first game at Pitbull Stadium will be on September 7th when the FIU Panthers takes on Central Michigan. Will this start a chain reaction and we’ll soon see every college football being named after a local musician or celebrity?
