THE BANK STOPS HERE

Did you hear this on the news over the weekend? The Manhattan Transport Authority(MTA) has sold the naming rights for one of it's subway stations to Barclay's bank for the next twenty years.

The station in question is Atlantic Avenue, which also serves Pacific Street and Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn. Shortly it will become the Barclay's, Atlantic Ave., Pacific St., Flatbush Ave. stop. I'll need a few drinks to get that out in one go...

It's not unusual for corporate companies to buy naming rights to stadiums and other large concert and event arenas. Take the 02 here in Dublin and London, formerly the Point Depot and the the Millennium Dome respectively. Then there's the the stadium which replaced Highbury as the home of Arsenal football club in London, it's called the Emirates stadium after the airline. Not forgetting for the rugby aficionados the new redeveloped Lansdowne Road in Dublin will from next year be known as the Aviva Stadium after the international Insurance firm bought the naming rights.

But as for naming stations, I suppose it's a logical step, originally most stations and airports where named geographically. Dublin Airport for example, is still referred to as Dublin, despite the calls to name it after such political and sporting luminaries as Jack Charlton or Charles Haughey. But in the past twenty years or so it's become fashionable to dedicate a station or airport to a political or sporting figure.

Here in Dublin most of the stations are named after those involved the 1916 rising. On the Southside we have Pearse Street - named after Padraig Pearse, who led the rising. There's Connolly Station on the Northside(originally called Amiens St. Because that's where it's situated) - named after James Connolly, another leader of the rising. Then up the river on the Southside we have Heuston Station - named after Sean Heuston also a member of rising. Going south from Dublin we have Dun Laoghaire DART station recently named Dun Laoghaire "Mallin" after Michael Mallin who was James Connolly's 2nd in command and in the town of Bray 13 miles south of Dublin the Station was also recently renamed Bray Daly after Edward Daly who again fought in the rising.

Going abroad we have Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, John Lennon airport in Liverpool and again the recently christened George Best international airport in Belfast. Not forgetting the more well known U.S. airports such JFK in New York, Chicago's O'Hare (named after after Lieutenant Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare a WWII flying ace awarded the Medal Of Honor) and the Ronald Reagan international in Washington D.C.

D.C. also has its main airport Dulles, which was named after John Foster Dulles who was Sec. of State under Eisenhower.

So where to next? If Barclay's can buy a station name will we have Nike Grand Central or maybe they'd be happier with the Charles De Gaulle Nike Air-port. Think of the advertising slogans that could be used... "Swish in and out of the fashion capital".

I suppose Subway's options are limited or numerous whichever way your looking at it. but I'm perplexed as to why Barclay's had to go all the way to NYC to buy a station name. When you consider that there's a station on the London Underground called "Bank", wouldn't have been easier to rename that Barclay's bank... Maybe one of it's UK competitors will take it up...

One last thought is, if Barclays can buy the name of a station, whats stopping them buying the name of the underground or subway... It would give a new meaning to the phrases, "The buck stops here.." or "Money makes the train go round.."