The Coca-Cola Silver Spring Metro Station? WMATA Considers Crazy Proposal

WASHINGTON, DC — WMATA is about to consider a proposal that could mean permanently changing the name of a number of Metro stations throughout the system, and in a way that is raising quite a few eyebrows. Metro Board's Customer Service, Operations, and Security Committee is expected to vote this week on whether to sell naming rights to stations, according to numerous reports.

Lynn Bowersox, the assistant general manager of customer service, communications, and marketing at WMATA, is scheduled to go before the committee on July 13 to describe what the benefits would be to Metro to agree to such an advertising deal, WTOP reported.

There's no indication that the Silver Spring Station would be one of those stations, but the broad proposal is in its early stages and any station could eventually be up for consideration -- especially if the initial roll-out is a success and WMATA becomes increasingly desperate for funding.

Regardless of how the meeting goes, it won't be put in place right away, so any renaming of Metro stations is likely a ways away. But the idea is gaining traction among WMATA board members who are desperate for a way to find extra cash at a time when the system is cutting back service and raising fares in the face of dwindling ridership. The board is trying to avoid another round of fare increases next year to deal with a projected budget gap.

To get an idea of what such a renaming would look like, Finance Committee Chair Michael Goldman has suggested that the Silver Line could be rebranded the Dulles Express, or local sports teams could have their branding throughout stations most used by fans, according to WTOP. But it could also involve renaming individual stations.

Other cities have considered similar deals. Philadelphia has renamed a couple of stations in exchanged for millions of dollars in revenue. Los Angeles officials examined the possibility earlier this year, but eventually decided not to.

"Fully leveraging our real estate assets would include examining the marketplace to determine the potential revenue for commercial station naming, which has generated millions of dollars in non-fare revenue for other transit properties," the documents said, according to a WAMU report. "WMATA staff believes there may be potential station naming opportunities at Gallery Place, Navy Yard-Ballpark, Metro Center, and L’Enfant Plaza stations due to proximity to venues and ridership density."

Whether that proposal could be expanded to include other stations throughout Metro -- like the Silver Spring Station -- remains unclear, but it would certainly lay the groundwork for such a move.

Image via WMATA