Assigning sponsored names to our favorite games and venues just seems to be a way of life in a struggling economy.

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There’s the Tostito’s Bowl, Fed Ex Field and even Jiffy Lube Live. So why not sponsor road side rest stops as well? The Governor of Virginia thinks it’s a good idea.

Gov. Bob McDonnell says Virginia will offer naming rights to its 42 rest stops to off-set the costs of operating and maintaining them.

In 2009, then Governor Tim Kaine closed 19 of the state’s rest stops to save money – McDonnell ordered them reopened and asked the state department of transportation to come up with a plan. It costs about $20 million a year to run the state’s rest stops…but McDonnell thinks they’ll offer valuable advertising exposure to those who pay to put their name on the site. About 33 million people a year use the state’s rest stops and visitor centers.

Several other states are considering similar sponsorship programs including New Jersey who took up the cause last year.

State officials in New Jersey estimated a rest-stop naming rights deal could bring in about $1 million a year, Eric Smallwood, vice president of Front Row Marketing Services and an expert in naming rights told the Associated Press.

Who do you think should sponsor a Virginia rest stop, and what should they call it? Leave your comments below, or tweet using #reststopnames.