Chicago Selling Naming Rights to Train Lines

... Along with stations and even the transit agency's logo
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 13, 2010 10:08 AM CST
Chicago Selling Naming Rights to Train Lines
A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train heads into Chicago's Loop area in this July 12, 2006, file photo.   (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)

The financially strapped Chicago Transit Authority is going the sell-the-naming rights route: Everything from train lines, individual stations, bus routes, retail stands, and even the agency logo will go to the highest-bidding corporate sponsor, reports the Chicago Tribune. But to make sure the daily commute doesn't get too confusing, train lines' colors will stay part of the name, so it will be something along the lines of Blue Line/McDonald's.

Of course, Sox fans had to make a similar adjustment when Comiskey Park became US Cellular Field. "We want to find new ways to generate revenue," the CTA's president said. "And we want to do so in a way that will enhance the experience of our riders for improvements, services and amenities. Providing 1.7 million rides every single day is a value to somebody someplace. The question is, What's it worth?"
(More Chicago stories.)

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