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American Airlines has the best seat in the house for NBA Finals
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06/01/11 05:23 PM ET
No matter which team is hosting the games of the ongoing National Basketball Association Finals, the games will be played in an arena named after American Airlines.
The airline has hubs at the airports in Miami, home of the Eastern Conference champion Heat, and in Dallas, home of the Western Conference Champion Mavericks. The airline purchased the naming rights to arenas in both cities in 1999, and the courts were christened the AmericanAirlines Arena and American Airlines Center respectively.
The airline is paying Miami $42 million over 20 years and giving $195 million over 30 years to Dallas.
"For American, it's fantastic. No matter what, we'll have home court advantage," said American Airlines sports and entertainment director Dawn Turner said in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The airline has launched a promotion website called www.AAbasket.com.
This is the second time the American Airlines-named arenas have hosted the basketball championship matchup, as the Heat and Mavericks meet in the 2006 NBA Finals. The residents of the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami won that match-up four games to two. The current incarnation of the Heat jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the occupants of the American Airlines Center in Dallas this week.
Other airlines like Delta and United have naming rights at basketball arenas in Salt Lake City and Chicago, two of their respective hubs.
The airline has hubs at the airports in Miami, home of the Eastern Conference champion Heat, and in Dallas, home of the Western Conference Champion Mavericks. The airline purchased the naming rights to arenas in both cities in 1999, and the courts were christened the AmericanAirlines Arena and American Airlines Center respectively.
The airline is paying Miami $42 million over 20 years and giving $195 million over 30 years to Dallas.
"For American, it's fantastic. No matter what, we'll have home court advantage," said American Airlines sports and entertainment director Dawn Turner said in an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The airline has launched a promotion website called www.AAbasket.com.
This is the second time the American Airlines-named arenas have hosted the basketball championship matchup, as the Heat and Mavericks meet in the 2006 NBA Finals. The residents of the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami won that match-up four games to two. The current incarnation of the Heat jumped out to a 1-0 lead on the occupants of the American Airlines Center in Dallas this week.
Other airlines like Delta and United have naming rights at basketball arenas in Salt Lake City and Chicago, two of their respective hubs.
