Genting, the operators of the Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct Racetrack, are still interested in purchasing the naming rights for a nearby station on the A train, the Daily News reported today. According to the brief story, MTA officials last week told State Senators that talks between the two parties were still “preliminary,” but the interest appears to be mutual.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Genting’s interest in naming rights. In August, at the ribbon-cutting for renovated Aqueduct Racetrack stop, casino officials suggested that they wanted to pursue a naming rights arrangement. “We’ve been asking them for the last several months what we can do to get the station named after us,” Edward Farrell, president of Resorts World Casino New York City, said to New York 1 in August. “We definitely want it done.”
If Genting wants it done, the MTA should move forward at the chance to realize some revenue at a station primed for naming rights. As of now, only Manhattan-bound A trains stop at this station, but politicians hope the casino’s popularity will lead to a new platform and entry point on the Rockaway-bound side as well. Meanwhile, many casino-bound straphangers use the A — and this station — to reach the city’s sole casino. A deal won’t fetch the same $200,000 annual fee Barclays is paying for naming rights to the former Atlantic Ave./Pacific St. stop, but any additional amount should be welcomed.
4 comments
Not even $200,000 like Barclays? That’s chump change and one MTA union worker can make that in a year with “overtime” wages.
And what happens when these stations are filthy strewn with garbage like so many other stations? These named dirty stations will then be associated with that business in many people’s minds.
Naming rights is just selling out and it just isn’t worth it.
That seems more like an incentive for the renter to pitch in with cleanup and maintenance.
Can I clean my local station? I don’t even want it renamed, I just want it cleaned ’cause I’m sick of waiting for a train in filth.
“Aqueduct Racetrack – Resorts World”
Hmm, despite my initial kneejerk “hell no”, it actually doesn’t sound that bad once I think about it a bit. And it makes sense from a functional perspective. Going forward that station will certainly serve far more people going to the casino than people going to watch horse racing.
Still, I am generally skeptical of renaming and oppose it in any circumstance where there is no public benefit to it.