Barclarys Bank Atlantic Avenue-Pacific Street Station. It just rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?
CNN has been reporting that the Atlantic-Pacific hub in Brooklyn, one of the busiest (and most confusing) stations in the entire MTA system, will be renamed by the British bank Barclays to coincide with the construction of the new Barclays Center basketball arena in the area.
Corporate naming rights, annoying as they are, have been a part of our culture since 1953, according to Wikipedia. And while it may seem like just another example of the auctioning off of America’s soul, corporate renaming certainly isn’t without its benefits. In this case, it’ll mean $200,000 per year for the next 20 years to the MTA, which we all know is in serious need of monetary help. Although really, that sort of money seems like nothing for the chance at having millions of people see your company’s name every day.
Of course, no one will actually say the name. How many people do you know, after all, who are actually calling the new Mets stadium Citi Field?
Comments
I had no idea Corporate naming had been around that long. Somehow, it seems like it must have been developed out of 1980s yuppie greed.
The subway operators won't have to say the full name of that station, will they?
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