In downtown Denver, a digital billboard visible to drivers coming from two directions wraps the corner of a parking garage, promoting a Wi-Fi service on top and a holiday greeting below.
A similar sign advertising a soft drink embraces and brightens, in bold red, a downtown building in Atlanta.
They’re the kinds of digital billboards that a council committee on Tuesday discussed, a proposal that would require a change to the signage code in San Antonio and allow such advertising — on a large scale — in certain parts of the city.
The pitch to the city from outdoor media company Outfront Media and by the Urban Activation Institute is that revenue from ads displayed on these billboards would go into city coffers and could be spent to support arts and culture or other initiatives. The signs also could be used to promote local art in what the companies call an “arts and entertainment district” as well as serve as a platform for city messaging.
“This isn’t just what we would consider a digital billboard that we have in the city already,” said Michael Shannon, director of the city’s Development Services Department. “It can take a variety of forms — projections on buildings, the structure itself could be artistic and approved through an arts forum, et cetera.”
Shannon said there are pros and cons to the signage, but the advantages of the rotating and brightly lit signage include helping to activate spaces and providing additional lighting to enhance interest and safety.
The signs could generate $750,000 to $1 million a year for the City of San Antonio based on comparable efforts around the country, Shannon said.
Those who oppose it say digital signage has no place in San Antonio’s historic downtown. San Antonio resident Gemma Kennedy called it “tacky.”
“This ordinance will not help us create arts and entertainment districts,” Kennedy said to the Council’s Planning and Community Development Committee. “It will not make downtown welcoming, it will not make the character of this historic city a forward-looking place to be. … We’re not Las Vegas.”
The proposed signage was considered as part of the 2023 sign code update process because it would require a change to the city code regulating off-premise advertising. But the 2023 sign code update stakeholder committee voted against supporting the proposal to create urban entertainment districts because its members decided the issue had more to do with city policy.
In March 2023, members of the council’s Development Committee recommended that city staff further review the proposal, meet again with Outfront Media and the Urban Activation Institute and develop options for San Antonio.
Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia (D4), who chairs the committee, said on Tuesday that the location of an entertainment district where signage could be allowed should be considered carefully. The River Walk should be off limits as well as the city’s historic districts, she said.
“San Antonio is not New York City with all of the flooding of the lights,” Rocha Garcia said. “I’d say that San Antonio has something a little bit special and so I do think that it’s worth looking into it with various stakeholders to make sure that we respect the context of our historical downtown.”
Shannon said the city, through contracts with Outfront Media, would have control over the location and design of the billboards. The city could also put limits on the time of day that the signs are in use and the level of lighting.
“I certainly appreciate — a lot of us do — that we don’t want to go ahead and turn any part of San Antonio into Times Square,” said Councilman John Courage (D9), adding especially not Alamo Plaza.
Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran (D3) said she has seen digital signs in places like downtown Memphis and “the feel and the character of the city doesn’t necessarily change if it is done right.”
Viagran supported the aspect in the proposal that the added exposure, and funding, could support the arts in San Antonio.
“We need to start getting creative on how we do that,” she said. “Going into [artist] Cruz Ortiz’s studio is great, but if we could put his work digitally out there, that would be even better.”
City staff recommended to the committee that a series of public meetings be organized to get feedback on whether the code should be changed and how the program would work.
The meetings also will include representatives from groups such as the Conservation Society of San Antonio.
Vince Michael, executive director of the Conservation Society, said he first learned about the proposal on Tuesday morning, but the group plans to participate in future discussions, especially on the issue of where signs could be placed. Kathy Krnavek, president of the Conservation Society, doesn’t want to see them in the city center.
“People don’t come here to have an experience they can have in other cities,” said Krnavek. “They come here for the charm of San Antonio, and if you’ve got a big flashing billboard, tell me how that makes San Antonio look unique.”
Courage also noted that there’s something of a precedent in San Antonio for art and signage projected onto buildings. In 2014, a video known as “The Saga” was installed in Main Plaza.
“Years ago, no one would have stood for projections on San Fernando Cathedral,” he said. “And today they’re there all the time.”
