Well, that didn’t take long.
Remember The Bitcoin St. Pete Bowl at Tropicana Field last year? Well, savor it because it’s not going to happen again. At least not under that name.
According to Coin Desk, a company that reports on the tech currency, the company BitPay is walking away from a three-year sponsorship gig after just one year.
There’s little known about why Bitcoin is walking back its sponsorship and naming rights of the College Football bowl, but ESPN says the decision was mutual.
What’s extra perplexing is that the bowl had record viewership last year under Bitcoin’s name.
According to Bitcoin users on Reddit, the value of the currency few really understand is down. Maybe there’s trouble in paradise for the cyber money?
It’s also not really clear whether the name-pull means ESPN is vetting new sponsors or if, perhaps, the bowl is going away all together.
The St. Petersburg Bowl was formerly sponsored by Beef O’Brady’s before Bitcoin ceremoniously took over.
The Bitcoin logo has disappeared from ESPN and Facebook for the local bowl at Tropicana Field.
Maybe this is foreshadowing of another disappearing name from the Trop? With the Rays about to start a new season at Tropicana Field in less than a week, they are still without a deal with the city to start looking for new stadium sites.
Many speculate that could spell the end of baseball in St. Pete and even the region. That would likely also mean the end of the Trop.
So, see ya later Bitcoin. Welcome to who ever else follows, but it’s doubtful they’ll stick around long. It’s like the Trop has a plague or something. Sheesh.
