Urging Sponsorships to Fund L.A. Transit

One way to help build an expensive new extension of L.A's subway system is to accept corporate sponsorships, argues Joel Epstein in this op-ed.

1 minute read

February 15, 2011, 8:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


Money from corporate sponsorships could help fund the subway and other major transit projects in Los Angeles, where progress on these mega-projects has been slow.

"Naming rights can help us build the Wilshire Boulevard subway extension and the 11 other critical public transit projects that 30/10 promises now, rather than in two, four, 30 or however many years it takes until we again see a majority in the House and Senate who believe in the importance of a new New Deal or infrastructure bank for America.

To hear the critics assail the idea of corporate naming rights for critical infrastructure projects like the subway one might think that "Wilshire" was the name of a Greek god rather than an L.A. real estate speculator. For the naming rights to Wilshire Boulevard, L.A.'s grand concourse, we didn't even get a dime to the best of my knowledge."

Monday, February 14, 2011 in Los Angeles Business Journal

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