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TL;DR version
Inglewood’s growing fleet of video billboards and kiosks are at the center of an advertising turf war that is spilling onto the ballot. The city’s stadiums are backing this ballot measure to ban most commercial advertising on public streets and sidewalks, though billboard deals currently bring the city millions of dollars of revenue a year.
What’s at stake?
The measure would ban most commercial advertising on city streets, sidewalks and similar public rights-of-way, including on billboards and kiosks, though in doing so it would cut off a multi-million dollar city revenue stream. It would not explicitly require the demolition of existing video billboard and kiosk structures in Inglewood, opponents say, though the measure’s supporters counter it would restrict their use.
Why now, or why it matters?
Inglewood’s stadium-centered development boom over the last decade brought a fleet of video billboards to public streets and sidewalks that sparked an advertising turf war between billboard operator WOW Media and the city’s stadiums. The city has pulled in between $3 million and $8 million a year from billboard deals since 2020, according to city budget estimates, but some locals say they are turning the city into an unwanted mini-Vegas.
Official title on the ballot: Ordinance to Eliminate Advertising on Public Right-of-Way, Measure BB
Language you’ll see on your ballot: Shall the ordinance to amend the General Plan and Inglewood Municipal Code to eliminate the City’s authority to allow advertising on the public right-of-way and certain available properties, resulting in a loss of general fund revenues, be approved?
What your vote means
A “yes” vote means: You want to see less commercial advertising on Inglewood’s public streets and sidewalks, regardless of the effects on the city’s billboard revenue.
A “no” vote means: You want to allow commercial advertising on Inglewood’s public streets and sidewalks and maintain the city’s billboard revenue stream.
Understanding Measure BB
Measure BB would have real effects on Inglewood at the street level, blocking many commercial ads and halting a city revenue stream, but it is rooted in a larger conflict over advertising real estate that involves stadium and billboard companies.
The ballot measure is heavily contested, with SoFi Stadium and the Kia Forum lining up on one side, and WOW Media and city officials on the other. The stadiums, who operate billboards of their own, sued the city over one of its billboard agreements with WOW last year but have so far failed to block the agreement in court.
Now, the stadium-funded Neighbors for Beautiful Inglewood campaign is pushing for Measure BB’s passage while Inglewood Residents for Stadium Accountability, a campaign bankrolled by WOW, is fighting against it.
Even if the measure does pass, it may not go into effect. The city sued to block it earlier this year, contending it violates free speech rights, contract law and zoning rules. Inglewood Mayor James Butts told The LA Local in July that the city intends to keep fighting it.
What supporters say
Measure BB’s supporters argue that video billboards have become a distracting eyesore in Inglewood that aren’t worth the benefit to the city’s bottom line.
The stadiums are the measure’s biggest backers, and a report commissioned by Neighbors for Beautiful Inglewood contended that the proliferation of billboards and video kiosks around the stadiums directly conflicts with advertising at venues and would make the city less attractive to major events in the future.
Campaign spokesperson John Shallman told The LA Local that though the measure won’t require the demolition of existing structures, it could still serve to block future billboards and kiosks.
“Existing signs should either come down or serve exclusively for legitimate public services purposes,” he said.
Locals have also come out against the billboards, with one group called Alliance for a Better Inglewood saying that the city’s billboard deals have commodified shared streets.
What opponents say
The measure’s detractors, led by Inglewood Residents for Stadium Accountability and the city itself, say it will cut into city revenue that helps pay for city services.
The WOW-funded committee has also taken aim at Measure BB’s stadium backers, arguing that the real purpose of the measure is to squash advertising competition for the stadiums.
“It’s clear this is about advertising revenues being taken from residents,” Mayor James Butts wrote to The LA Local.
Oliver Unaka, campaign manager for the committee, contended Measure BB won’t actually change the existing billboard landscape.
“The structures are going nowhere. Not now, not in the not-too-distant future,” Unaka said.
The city argues that the measure unfairly favors the stadiums’ own billboards without a legitimate reason.
Potential financial impact
City staff wrote in a report that the measure would have immediate financial consequences, taking away current billboard revenue between $6-8 million.
The measure could also undercut future revenue increases that hinge on a contract with WOW to build 60 more digital ad boards across Inglewood, according to the city.
Follow the money
The stadium-funded Neighbors for Beautiful Inglewood spent $2.1 million to fight for the billboard ban through the first six months of the year, according to campaign filings.
Inglewood Residents for Stadium Accountability, which is backed by WOW, spent $1.3 million in the same period to fight Measure BB and push for a separate admissions tax initiative, Measure AT.
Further reading
- Inglewood’s billboard battles: Letters reveal fraying relationship between SoFi, mayor
- Inglewood’s flashy digital billboards could hit the ballot this fall
- Inglewood’s billboard battles just got weirder
- Inglewood’s video billboards score a major win in court battle with stadiums
- Billboard ads and stadium taxes head to voters this November
- Campaigns backed by stadium and billboard companies have spent $3.4M on Inglewood’s election
Editor’s Note: The Ballmer Group is a funder of The LA Local, but their support doesn’t influence our coverage. To learn more about our funders and commitment to editorial independence, click here.
