Monorail banks on sponsorship to help pay the bills

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 | 11:05 a.m.

The Las Vegas Monorail Co. today unveiled a freshly painted train, the first to have a local business sponsor.

Three employees of BankWest of Nevada will get bonuses and lifetime passes to ride the transportation system after submitting a name for the fire-engine red train -- the "Moneyrail" -- that was rolled out this morning.

BankWest will pay an estimated $3 million for the three-year train sponsorship deal, which also gives the locally founded bank exclusive rights for automatic teller machines at the monorail's seven stations.

The ATMs, strategically located next to ticket machines at the monorail stations, will have another promotional gimmick for customers who use them. The bank announced that in addition to cash requested by customers, the machines would occasionally spew vouchers worth $100 that can be redeemed at bank branches.

The BankWest sponsorship is a financial shot in the arm for the Las Vegas Monorail, which has had disappointing ridership figures after opening behind schedule and operating intermittently after a series of mechanical problems.

Las Vegas Monorail officials have said the system needs an average of 50,000 riders a day to pay the bonds for the $650 million system. Lately, the system has averaged around 30,000 passengers a day.

The Sun first reported BankWest was on board to sponsor a monorail train more than a year ago.

Patrick Pharris, president and chief executive of Promethean Partners LLC, the company that is developing train and monorail station sponsorships on behalf of the Las Vegas Monorail Co., said he expects other companies will step forward to sponsor trains now that BankWest has committed and the monorail is operating.

"It took about 17 months to finally put the deal together," Pharris said. "I think it makes a statement to have a local company step up like this. It says 'We're more than just an advertiser, we're committed to the community.' "

Pharris said an automaker, a rental car company and a clothing manufacturer are considering similar sponsorship deals.

Hansen Natural Corp., Corona, Calif., which owns the Monster Beverage Co. subsidiary, was the first to sponsor a train. Since the Monster Beverage train debut, Paramount Parks has sponsored a themed train to promote its Star Trek: The Experience attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Las Vegas Centennial put messages on trains.

Communications giant Nextel sponsored both a train and a station, with the company developing a retail location at the monorail's well-traveled Convention Center station.

Larry Woodrum, president of BankWest, said showing off the train today and another publicity stunt -- the unveiling earlier this morning of one of six billboards featuring the bank and the Moneyrail train -- were a show of the bank's support for the community.

"It's great publicity for the bank," Woodrum said. "It shows that we are local and that we back the monorail and the city. (The monorail) is a first-class transit system."