Pitbull Acquires Naming Rights In 5-Year Deal With FIU Stadium
The 43 year-old singer and songwriter, Pitbull, has signed a five-year deal to have the Florida International University stadium now be named Pitbull Stadium. According to The New York Times, he is “expected to pay the Conference USA school $1.2 million per year over the next five years to have his name on its 20,000-seat home.” Pitbull is the first musical artist to have an athletic stadium named after them, and he is confident that other universities will soon follow suit. He publicly stated, “you’re going to see that every other university is going to want to do the same thing. But 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 305. I’m from the bottom. This is my backyard.”
Pitbull—famously known as Mr. 305 or Mr. Worldwide—has a strong passion and pride for Miami, as that is where he was born and raised. As stated by FIU News, “his life and career are influenced by the people, places, languages and cultural practices of South Florida. He really showcases to the world a version of Miami that is authentic.” When it came down to which university Pitbull wanted to attach his name to, the answer was clear, as he wanted to draw attention to the underdogs of Miami. He stated in an ESPN article, “Being underdogs is what I always felt about FIU – fighting, clawing their way just to be seen, to be recognized whether it be from education, business, through sports.”
This isn’t the first business venture the Grammy award-winner has indulged in. Back in 2019, Pitbull launched 305 Worldwide—a multicultural marketing agency. He stated in the Wall Street Journal that his motive with this agency is to “be able to deal with companies on the multicultural side and one way or another protect and represent our culture to the best of my ability, and give up-and-coming artists and entertainers an opportunity to work with the companies.” In addition to him being the co-owner of Voli Vodka and a global ambassador of Espanita Tequila, “Pitbull is also a motivational speaker and a collaborator in noble causes,” according to Calle Ocho News. With Pitbull being one of the world’s most successful and talented performers in the music industry, he can now add successful businessman to that list, and we can only expect greater and bigger things to come.
Featured Image: unsplash.com by Florian Müller