T hopes companies will snap up station names

T riders could soon be getting off the train at Macy's — Downtown Crossing Station — or hopping on the Boloco — Blue Line.

The MBTA issued a request for proposals yesterday, seeking companies interested in buying the naming rights to nine stations and the Green, Red, and Blue lines. The Legislature included an amendment in last summer's massive transportation finance bill that lets the MBTA sell naming rights, with supporters estimating it could generate as much as $20 million for the cash-strapped T.

Naming a station presents an interesting opportunity for advertisers, Boston University marketing professor Tobe Berkovitz said.

"Every time a train pulls in, the announcer says the name of your brand," Berkovitz said.

Still, there could be some drawbacks.

"If something bad happens or if people have bad experiences at the station, then all of a sudden it is a negative," Berkovitz said.

The bidding starts at 
$1 million annually for five years for South Station, Airport, Downtown Crossing, Park Street, Back Bay, North Station, State Street, and Boylston stations, and $500,000 for Yawkey because the T says it has fewer daily customers.

Bids are due Feb. 27 and the naming rights will go to the "highest qualified bidder," according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo, with licenses expected to be awarded by July 1. The proposals must follow the MBTA's existing advertising standards, meaning alcohol and tobacco companies, as well as political parties and religious groups, are excluded.

It's not the first time the MBTA has floated the idea of naming rights — in 2001 no bidders stepped forward. And a proposal in 2011 drew criticism from a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that advocates limiting commercialization.

Berkovitz said the most natural fit would be sports teams and other attractions. In 2009, Barclays bought the naming rights to a Brooklyn subway station for $4 million over 20 years, to go with the now-complete Barclays Center, home to the New York Nets.

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