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Galaxy buys stadium name
Galaxy Digital signed a 15-year naming-rights agreement with Texas Tech University to rename its football venue Galaxy Stadium starting in the 2026 season.
“Galaxy's CEO, Mike Novogratz, signed on Friday a 15-year contract for naming rights with Texas Tech, renaming the Red Raiders' football stadium Galaxy Stadium starting with the 2026 season”
The renamed stadium is scheduled to host its first game on Sept. 5, when Texas Tech opens the season against Abilene Christian.
The partnership is set to extend beyond branding, with Galaxy named the official digital assets and data center partner of Texas Tech Athletics.
Galaxy said it will support AI, digital asset, athlete and workforce programs at the university, while financial details were not disclosed in the announcement.
The deal also ties to Galaxy’s Helios data center campus in Dickens County, about 60 miles east of Lubbock, where the company says the site has approval for 1.6 gigawatts of capacity dedicated to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
NIL, AI and Helios
Texas Tech’s athletics partnership with Galaxy is designed to include NIL opportunities for student-athletes, alongside artificial intelligence initiatives and workforce development programs.
In a statement, athletics director Kirby Hocutt said, "We're pleased to welcome Galaxy as the new naming rights partner of our football stadium," and added that the partnership would have "a lasting impact on Texas Tech Athletics."
Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz linked the stadium deal to its Helios buildout, saying, "At our Helios campus in nearby Dickens County, we're building the infrastructure that powers the code economy," and promising to hire locally and "be a good neighbor."
Sports Business Journal reported the agreement is worth about $75 million over its full term, while Galaxy and Texas Tech disclosed the 15-year duration but did not provide a financial value in their announcements.
The Blockspace Media report also said the Galaxy logo is expected to appear at midfield and that the agreement removes the Jones name from the stadium title after nearly eight decades.
Texas crypto policy backdrop
The Galaxy-Texas Tech deal lands as Texas continues expanding its crypto footprint through both infrastructure investment and pro-crypto policy, with Gov. Greg Abbott signing legislation establishing the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
“Galaxy Digital (NASDAQ: GLXY)signeda 15-year naming-rights agreement with Texas Tech Athletics on Friday, renaming the university’s football venue Galaxy Stadium beginning with the 2026 season”
In May, state officials began moving the reserve’s exposure away from a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund and toward directly custodied Bitcoin, placing Texas among the US states using public policy to hold Bitcoin directly.
The Crypto News report also said industry-affiliated political action committees spent more than $10 million in May on candidates contesting congressional primary runoffs, and that all six candidates supported by those groups won their races.
Texas already hosts Bitcoin miners and infrastructure operators including Riot Platforms, Cipher Mining, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, IREN and Hut 8, and the report noted Canaan purchased a 49% interest in three operating Texas mining sites from Cipher Mining for almost $40 million in February.
With Galaxy’s stadium branding now scheduled to begin in 2026 and its Helios capacity described as 1.6 gigawatts for AI and high-performance computing, the partnership adds a high-visibility sports element to a state landscape that the sources describe as combining compute build-outs, mining activity, and reserve custody policy.
