‘Costing Someone a Lot More Than 50 Cent’: Florida Company Loses Lease on Airport Venue 50 Cent Used for Mostly Maskless Super Bowl Party
50 Cent‘s recent Super Bowl bash had an even bigger effect on the venue where it was hosted than intended.
After throwing a mostly maskless party on Friday, Feb. 5, at the Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Sky Addict Aviation company has lost its lease on a 3,000-square-foot hangar and office space, Tampa Bay 10 reported.
In the termination letter, the city’s director of real estate and property management, Alfred Wendler, cited a provision in the lease that allows for termination without cause. The letter gives 180 days’ notice. The notice comes as Sky Addict just renewed a five-year lease in December.
A spokesman for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, Ben Kirby, said the mayor decided to terminate the lease because hosting a concert is outside the range of what the hangar space was supposed to be used for. Sky Addict also failed to file a COVID-19 safety plan required by the city for events larger than 250 people — a rule that went into effect on Feb. 1. Kirby did note that city officials don’t know exactly how many people attended 50’s event.
At the time, Kriseman, who has been vocal about practicing proper safety measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, condemned the “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” rapper following news of his super-spreader event.
“This isn’t how we should be celebrating the Super Bowl,” Kriseman wrote in a post on Feb. 6. “It’s not safe or smart. It’s stupid. We’re going to take a very close look at this, and it may end up costing someone a lot more than 50 cent. @TMZ.”
Attendees at the packed event paid $85 for general admission tickets and up to $7,000 for tables located by the main stage. In the footage, Fifty could be seen pouring drinks — without wearing a mask. He later took the stage and performed the new theme song for “Power III: Raising Kanan.” His actions garnered him backlash from critics on social media.
Sky Addict’s registered agent and manager, Abraham Tray, declined to comment on the city’s action. Meanwhile, the rapper, who is usually very vocal on social media, has made zero mention of the company losing its lease due to his party.
After his Friday celebration, 50 hosted another Super Bowl party that following Saturday. The event was in honor of the 18th anniversary of his debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin.’” The 19-track project, which was released in 2003, sold an estimated 872,000 copies in its opening weekend and launched the rapper into stardom. Two years later he released a film by the same name, based loosely on his life. The movie earned actor Terrence Howard a BET award for Best Actor in 2006.