Two ballot measures that could reshape Inglewood's financial future were still too close to call as vote counting continued, with both trailing as of Friday afternoon, Nov. 6. Measure AT, which would expand taxes on tickets sold at the city's sports and entertainment venues, was behind by just 155 votes, less than 1% of the total ballots cast. Measure BB, which would ban advertising on the city's public right-of-way, trailed by about 899 votes, or 3.2%.
Neither gap was small enough for proponents to concede defeat, and the two camps continued trading accusations when reached for comment on Friday.
Measure AT would eliminate a roughly $15 million annual cap on a 10% admission tax applied to each ticket sold at SoFi Stadium and would set a 2.5% tax on tickets sold by the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum. Proponents and city officials say it could generate as much as $50 million per year in new revenue, while opponents argue it would raise prices and hurt jobs at the venues.
The campaign for Measure AT was largely funded by WOW Media, a billboard company at odds with the venues, which contributed nearly $4 million to pass AT and defeat BB as of the end of October. "This election was a referendum on a simple principle: Businesses seeking to partner (with) Inglewood should help fund the essential public services that make their success possible," a company spokesperson said in a statement, adding that each new round of returns gave the company greater confidence that residents were standing up for their city.
Measure BB was bankrolled by the Kia Forum and Hollywood Park through a committee called Neighbors for a Beautiful Inglewood, with the Kia Forum and HP Security Co. each contributing more than $2 million to a $4.2 million war chest, some of which also went toward opposing AT. The measure would effectively block commercial ads on city-owned billboards leased to WOW Media while leaving competing displays on the venues' own properties untouched. According to city hall, the billboards at risk generate about $8 million per year in revenue.
The stakes are high for a city facing a $31 million deficit this year. Mayor James T. Butts Jr., whose administration has clashed with the owners of Hollywood Park, the Forum and the Intuit Dome since agreeing to the billboard deal last year, has said the city may need to consider cuts if BB passes and AT fails, though Inglewood holds about $150 million in reserves. An attorney for the city has estimated the advertising rights in question are worth "hundreds of millions of dollars," while WOW Media has suggested the billboards could bring as much as $1 billion over the life of its agreement with the city, which runs 20 years and can be extended to 40.
John Shallman, a spokesperson for Measure BB's proponents, said the measures are "simply too close to call," but argued the result on BB "appears to be moot" because Caltrans has deemed many of the billboards illegal. In October, the state agency sent WOW Media violation notices accusing it of violating the Outdoor Advertising Act with four nonconforming billboards near the 405 freeway and threatening fines of $10,000, plus $100 for each day a display remains up. The city's agreement with WOW covers up to 60 structures and as many as "108 digital faces." Shallman also called on the state and the district attorney to investigate alleged campaign advertisements displayed on the city-owned billboards, a potential violation of California's Political Reform Act.
WOW Media said it would appeal the violation notices, calling the matter a nonstory and "another political hit job by Billionaires, desperate to eliminate anyone who stands up to their greedy and hypocritical efforts to exploit Inglewood." A company spokesperson said the signs are "not only fully permitted and licensed, they are just like dozens of others across California that have never been flagged," noting that WOW filed an appeal and met with Caltrans officials when the issue first surfaced in 2022.
WOW also called the Measure BB campaign hypocritical, pointing out that Inglewood's venues recently stood to benefit from AB 2717, a bill this year that would have exempted their displays from the Outdoor Advertising Act. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill in September, saying it would jeopardize up to $580 million annually in federal highway funding. Shallman dismissed the comparison: "WOW can blame the man in the moon," he said. "Caltrans cited them for violating state law and no amount of political spin makes those violations or their debt to taxpayers disappear."
