How one of Southern California's biggest entertainment hubs has become a battleground over big-money billboards

If you've ever visited any of Inglewood's entertainment venues, you've noticed the not-so-subtle ways marketers are looking to grab your attention. But the bright, eye-catching, electronic billboards have got plenty of people amped up.

"It's junkie, it's blight, it is light pollution," said longtime resident Dallas Fowler.

More than 100 digital billboards and displays are installed across the city, mostly along medians and above major roadways. Resident Charles Braggs says he wants them gone.

"They're distracting," he said. "You're trying to read what's on the sign [while driving] ... so it's dangerous and it shouldn't be there."

The billboards are at the heart of a high-stakes battle over advertising revenue, control of city finances and political influence as Inglewood prepares to host massive crowds for next year's Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics after hosting eight FIFA World Cup matches this summer.

Last year, the city launched an exclusive advertising project with WOW Media to expand the number of kiosks that provide transportation information, along with ads, to a captive audience sitting in traffic.

Mayor James Butts says Inglewood's decade-long billboard partnership with WOW has generated more than $30 million. He claims that revenue has paid for pre-kindergarten classes, senior citizen programs, park renovations and pothole repairs. 

Critics, however, say the money generated is less than 1% of the city's 2025-2026 budget, which was $454,000,109.

Last year, the operators of SoFi Stadium, the Intuit Dome and The Kia Forum filed a lawsuit to void the WOW billboard agreement on the grounds the city failed to comply with competitive bidding laws. 

Gerard McCallum is the Project Manager of Hollywood Park, which owns SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome. Both have their own digital advertising operations on their properties.  

"Those all went through a public process," McCallum said. "What you see now that's planned for the city is all part of the input that came from the public."

McCallum says he wants that process for the billboards.

In June, an LA County Superior Court judge rejected the majority of the entertainment venue's arguments. The court also ruled that WOW's proprietary technology allowed it to be exempt from conducting a competitive bidding process.

In a statement, Hollywood Park said the ruling "raises significant legal questions" and vowed to appeal it.

The fight has since expanded beyond the courtroom into competing ballot measures. A stadium-supported initiative is looking to eliminate much of the digital billboard program. 

"The stadium owners sued — and lost," said WOW CEO Scott Krantz. "Now they're running the same trick play at the ballot box: a measure that brands the City's signs as 'blight' while shielding their own 30 massive billboards."

WOW is backing two proposals: a cap on stadium parking rates and a tax on event tickets.

Caught in the middle are the residents, but critics like Fowler and Braggs, who served on city commissions for parking and traffic, say it's hard for the community to attend city council meetings and voice their opinions because they're held in the middle of the workday. 

Mayor Butts points out council meetings have been held at 2 p.m. for at least 10 years. 

"The city of Los Angeles, [which has] 4 million people, their meetings are in the afternoon," Butts said. "The county of Los Angeles, 11 million residents, their meetings are in the afternoon."

Supporters of the digital billboard program, including Sheila Cutchlow say they draw major brands, bringing generational wealth to her family as her home value has risen significantly. 

"My house... is the thing that I can leverage, but it's really to pass on to my family and to my grandbaby," she said.

But some residents complain the billboards have changed the look of the community. People like Dallas Fowler say the beautiful trees that once lined the city's medians have been cut down to make way for what's become a digital divide.

"This isn't [Las] Vegas, it's not Times Square," Fowler said. "It is Inglewood. And we want our city back."

The city clerk says two of the three petitions are awaiting the city council's review to qualify for the November ballot. The third petition is being reviewed by the city clerk's office to ensure the signatures gathered are legitimate before the council can approve.