Welcome to Pitbull Stadium, the home of your FIU Panthers.
Florida International announced what could end up as a 10-year agreement on Tuesday with international recording artist, Grammy winner and entrepreneur Armando Christian P茅rez 鈥� the Miami native better known as Pitbull 鈥� to put his name on their on-campus stadium.
P茅rez will pay $1.2 million annually for the next five years, the university said, for the naming rights. He will have an option in August 2029 to extend the deal for another five years and continue the rebranding.
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鈥淵es, we're going to create history in Pitbull Stadium,鈥� P茅rez said during a news conference in Miami. 鈥淭his isn't just an announcement. This is a movement. This is truly history in the making.鈥�
FIU said it is the first agreement where an artist possesses the naming rights to a stadium. P茅rez will also be involved with FIU's efforts in the name, image and likeness space, athletic director Scott Carr said.
鈥淭his 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,鈥� Carr said. 鈥淎rmando鈥檚 financial support is program-changing, but him providing a microphone to amplify FIU will be even more beneficial to growing our brand."
As part of the deal, P茅rez gets use of the stadium for 10 days each year rent-free, with some tickets to those events to be set aside for FIU students. A vodka brand he owns will be a preferred brand at the stadium going forward, he will receive use of two suites and 20 VIP parking passes for FIU football home games, and he鈥檚 being asked to create an 鈥淔IU Anthem鈥� to be played at the school鈥檚 athletic contests.
鈥淚t's a true blessing, a true honor,鈥� P茅rez said. 鈥淟et's make history.鈥�
Pitbull 鈥� who also goes by 鈥淢r. 305,鈥� a nod to Miami's area code 鈥� kicked off his music career in the South Florida rap scene around 2004, eventually becoming one of the world's most recognized artists.
鈥淧itbull鈥檚 career trajectory mirrors FIU鈥檚 ascent as one of the nation鈥檚 top public research universities,鈥� FIU President Kenneth A. Jessell said. 鈥淟ike FIU, he started out very 305 and became worldwide.鈥�
P茅rez has been a longtime proponent of supporting education in South Florida. FIU said he founded the first SLAM! (Sports Leadership, Arts, and Management) tuition-free public charter school in Miami in 2012.
鈥淭his is about uniting everybody,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is about bringing everybody together. ... Hard work is what pays off. They tell me, 鈥榊ou so lucky.鈥� Well, the harder I work, the luckier I get.鈥�
