The San Diego trolley’s Green Line now has a new name, per an agreement inked Thursday between the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and Sycuan Casino.
In a deal that MTS said will generate up to $25.5 million in non-fare revenue for the company over a time span of up to 30 years, Sycuan Casino secured naming rights to the Green Line, which is now called the Sycuan Green Line.
The Sycuan Green Line – one of three color-themed trolley lines operated by MTS – is nearly 24 miles long and can be seen zipping along Interstate 8.
It serves major San Diego areas and attractions including San Diego State University, SDCCU Stadium, Mission Valley, Hazard Center, Fashion Valley, Old Town San Diego, Seaport Village, the San Diego Convention Center, the Gaslamp Quarter and Petco Park. The line also serves 27 stations in the cities of Santee, El Cajon, La Mesa and San Diego.
The deal between MTS and Sycuan Casino also allows Sycuan to operate shuttles to Sycuan Casino from some MTS Transit Centers including Santee, El Cajon, Grantville and 12th & Imperial. Sycuan also now has the right to change the name of three MTS stations.
The business deal comes at a good time for the casino in San Diego’s East County. In March, Sycuan announced a $226 million project to build a 12-story, 300-room hotel adjacent to its current casino complete with “lazy river”-style swimming pools, restaurants, meeting rooms and gardens. The hotel is scheduled to open in early 2019.
MTS chief executive officer Paul Jablonski called the agreement a “sustainable revenue source” that will help the company maintain its level of service throughout San Diego.
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This is the second naming rights agreement for MTS. In July 2015, UC San Diego Health and UC San Diego entered into a $30 million, 30-year agreement to rename the Blue Line the UC San Diego Blue Line.
The transit company said it continues to seek naming rights partner for its third and final line, the Orange Line, as well as for individual stations.
MTS’ three trolley lines run on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. In the fiscal year 2017, MTS served more than 88 million riders across its bus and trolley services.
