MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The stadium hosting Florida International University’s football team is getting a new name, but with a highly-familiar — and highly-unorthodox — sponsor.
On Tuesday, FIU announced that the university secured a naming rights deal to transform FIU Stadium into Pitbull Stadium, named after the global superstar rapper and singer.
It’s now the first-ever athletics venue with an artist possessing the naming rights, university officials said in a news release.
Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Pérez, is a South Florida native — as evidenced by one of his nicknames, “Mr. 305″ — who attended South Miami Senior High School and Miami Coral Park High School.
The 43-year-old, whose hits include “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” and “International Love,” is expected to perform in the stadium bearing his name, officials said.
“We don’t do this for propaganda, we do it from the heart because it’s meaningful,” the artist later said. “I do it because I’m from the crib. I’m 305.”
In a statement, FIU Athletics Director Scott Carr called the move “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,” Carr said. “I couldn’t be more excited about our partnership as this will take us to another level. We can now officially say: ‘Paws Up, Dale!’”
The naming rights agreement spans five years with an option for another five.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the duration of the agreement.