O'Hare, Midway exploring sale of naming rights and sponsorships
O’Hare and Midway airports won’t be changing their historic names that mean so much to war veterans, but everything else could be fair game.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is testing the waters on the idea of selling naming rights and sponsorships at Chicago’s two major airports.
The so-called “request for information” is just a preliminary step to see whether there is a market for companies willing to pay to sponsor or slap their names on everything from the O’Hare people mover system and airport concourses, garages and parking lots to shuttle buses, bus stops and children’s play areas.
Naming rights to elevators, electric vehicle charging stations, family restrooms and food courts could also be up for grabs.
“Nobody knows what it may reveal… This is not a procurement. There is no contract award or anything like that. We just want to explore and see what potential opportunities are out there — if any at all,” Aviation Commissioner Mike McMurray told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Our goal is to think commercially and increase our non-aeronautical revenue because that helps keeps airline costs competitive. This kind of innovation can enhance the passenger experience to better fund it, better maintain facilities. It can also help to attract world-class brands that reflect Chicago’s global stature, and also local brands that offer a true sense of the city without ever leaving the airport.”
The $16.6 billion budget approved by a renegade group of alderpersons includes $29.3 million in revenue by selling advertising on bridge houses, city light poles and city fleet vehicles, including street sweepers and snowplows.
At O’Hare and Midway, virtually everything would be fair game with two exceptions: the name “O’Hare” and “Midway.”
“The historic names of our airports are forever tied to the bravery of the men and women in World War II. So that’s not for sale," McMurray said.
What about, say, the McDonald’s concourse or the Kellogg’s people mover? McMurray would only say that commercialization of the aerial gateways to Chicago would be done with sensitivity and limits.
“Any future naming or any future program would be carefully designed to maintain the integrity and character and public purpose of both of our airports. I can’t repeat that enough," McMurray said.
Revenue generated at Chicago airports must be spent on airport operations, security and construction projects. It cannot be used to used on other city expenses.
Responses to the city’s request for information are due Feb. 17. The level of interest could be heightened by the massive expansion project underway at O’Hare. It would add a pair of satellite concourses at Terminal 1 and include construction of a new global terminal that would replace Terminal 2.
To cut costs and appease the two major airlines footing much of the bill, Mayor Brandon Johnson changed the order of construction on the $8.2 billion O’Hare terminal expansion project.
The new agreement allows the city to build the satellite concourse while planning a phased construction of the global terminal that would replace what is now Terminal 2.
A second satellite concourse, with a connecting tunnel, will be completed only if enough funding remains after other work is finished.
The city will provide regular cost estimates and will need approval from United and American before it can either cut the scope of the project or spend more than the inflation-adjusted $8.2 billion figure.
Last summer, McMurray flatly declared that, “We will not run out of money. ... If we do it right, we will deliver all of it” even though President Donald Trump’s tariffs have had a chilling effect on the cost of construction materials and supply chains.
But he also acknowledged that talks are underway to determine the final design of the global terminal designed by renowned Chicago architect Jeanne Gang. One option could be to economize on the Gang design that some in the industry have derided as an expensive “Taj Mahal."