Ugh. Alongside Salesforce Tower, the big new transit center taking shape downtown could be getting a corporate moniker, thanks to the sale of naming rights for the center, its rooftop park, or any number of small sections therein. Question: If Facebook or Google or Genentech were to pony up tens of millions to put their name on the transit center, will anyone actually call it that?
As the Chronicle reports, with construction costs for the center some $300 million over budget, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority is putting out the call for corporate naming rights, with options ranging from a single garden (there are at least 13) in the rooftop park, to the entire transit center. Is it weird to have corporate sponsorship for a piece of public infrastructure or open space? Yes, however they're taking inspiration from the city of Chicago, where Millennium Park succeeded in raising $205 million from naming rights for various promenades and bridges.
So, soon, you may be able to head on down to Levi's Stadium via the Oracle Transit Center.
The Transbay people are calling it "a once-in-a-lifetime, extraordinary opportunity to have your name or your logo linked with what will be the jewel of downtown San Francisco."
Many of you will of course call it tacky, desperate, and dumb.
Related: Transbay Developers Only Bluffing, Will Not Sue City
Transbay Project Faces Funding Drama