Public Transit: Cap Metro may get cash for naming rail lines, stations

Article published by the Austin American Statesman

Cap Metro may get cash for naming rail lines, stations
Getting There: Ben Wear
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Take the Broad Street light rail line toward South Philadelphia, and the station names ticking by wouldn't draw much notice: Tasker-Morris, Snyder, Oregon. All of them named for east-west streets bisecting the line.

Until you get to the last stop: AT&T Station.

There is no AT&T Avenue there. What there was, instead, was $5 million — or more precisely, $1 million a year for five years. That's what the Dallas-based communications behemoth is paying the Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority for the privilege of slapping the company name on the station.

Deals like that have put dollar signs in the eyes of officials who run the country's increasingly cash-strapped transit agencies. Including those at Capital Metro.

The agency's board today probably will award a $100,000 contract to a consultant who will be asked to figure out what, if anything, Capital Metro could harvest from naming rights for its rail stations, or the Red Line itself (which is not named for Texas business titan Red McCombs, just so you know — although he might get a call at some point). Or maybe even the two "rapid bus" routes the agency plans to start in the next couple of years.

The Cleveland transit authority was something of a pioneer in this arena, reaching a deal in 2008 with two hospitals to name its bus rapid transit route the Healthline (and include the hospitals' names on maps and other places). It had been called the Silver Line, the agency's marketing and communication director, Stephen Bitto, told me. The agency will get $250,000 a year for the next 25 years under that deal.

And it is offering naming rights to train stations for $30,000 a year, with a minimum 10-year commitment. A bank and an insurance company have ponied up so far for two stations, and Cleveland State University swapped some land for naming rights to a station.

You'll notice those Cleveland numbers are much lower than the one in Philadelphia. What you need to know about the AT&T station is that it is easy walking distance from the stadiums and arenas where the Phillies, 76ers, Flyers and Eagles play their games. In other words, several hundred thousand people a year disembark there in their team gear, all of them in a good mood as they get set to enjoy a game.

AT&T was willing to pay big-time to be associated with that.

The question here is, would anyone be willing to pay to put a name on, for instance, the Leander station, which has relatively light usage and is close to nothing other than the H-E-B grocery store across the highway? Or the Kramer station, which is surrounded by warehouses and industrial facilities? Only the Red Line's downtown station, a couple of blocks from East Sixth Street, is close to a popular commercial destination.

Capital Metro would be paying IMG Consulting Inc. to figure out the possibilities. And later, under the proposed deal, the company might get a 12 percent commission on any such agreements for naming rights it could rustle up. Getting There, however, is willing to offer some suggestions. Gratis.

Dell, of course, is the potential pot of gold that comes to mind first around here. A Capital Metro "overview of naming rights" presentation even features a photo of a Dell facility.

How about the Howard Lane/Dell Direct Station up there just west of the Loop 1 tollway? This is not only the closest station to Dell's Round Rock headquarters (though it's really more than two miles away, not all that close), but also the likely connecting spot for a (still unlikely) rail system in Round Rock.

The H-E-B/Leander Station? Well, perhaps proximity would help. Similarly, it would only make sense to have a Black Star Co-op/Crestview Station, given that the brewpub is about 100 feet from the train platform. If that doesn't work, well, there's always the Yellow Rose World Famous Cabaret up the street ...

The Lakeline station is already named for a mall. Would the owners be willing to pay for something they're getting for free now? And perhaps the Highland station could be named for a mall as well. Oh, wait, it sort of is already, or what's left of one.

Kramer could become the Sorta-near-the-Domain Station and the MLK Station the Sorta-near-Mueller Station.

As for Plaza Saltillo, located as it is among the burgeoning East Austin condoland (which could blossom even more if Capital Metro ever figures out how to sell its nearby 11 acres to developers), I'm thinking of something more descriptive: Gentrification Station. Might be hard to monetize that, however.

The biggest potential prize, of course, is the Red Line itself, although at less than 1,800 boardings a day, one has to temper revenue expectations. And who has more money than anyone else around here? The University of Texas athletic department, of course.

The Burnt Orange Line? We'll see if Capital Metro and its consultant can hook 'em.

For questions, tips or story ideas, contact Getting There at 445-3698 or bwear@statesman.com.