Full speed ahead for digital billboard: Millbrae officials OK advertising display over city’s stretch of Highway 101

Under the approval, advertising company Outfront Media will pay Millbrae nearly $5 million over the next 20 years to continuously scroll eight second ads all day on a 14-foot tall and 48-foot long LED screen.

The company has agreed to pay a $100,000 signing bonus, on top of $200,000 annually for the first five years of the agreement, with a $25,000 escalation every five years, until eventually reaching $300,000 per year for any additional time beyond 20 years. Ultimately, the company has promised to pay $4.85 million over the life of the agreement.

A clause in the contract also guarantees Outfront must make additional payments to Millbrae if the lease agreement amounts to less than 35 percent of the media company’s gross revenue for the year, and a representative from the company said he expects that to be a likely occurrence.

“The sign should generate real good revenue for the city.” said Jeff McCuen, real estate manager with Outfront Media.

The billboard will replace the hotel sign south of the Millbrae Avenue exit from Highway 101, near the Burlingame border, but will feature lit advertisements embedded in the 58-foot pole holding the digital screen promoting places to stay overnight in Millbrae. The current hotel sign will be moved north and mounted on the city’s wastewater treatment facility.

Before granting approval, the council bandied whether there should be space carved out on the pole for businesses other than hotels, but ultimately opted against the decision.

Much of the conversation from officials circulated over whether there would be opportunities for the city to advertise community events on the billboard, and how much time could be set aside.

Councilman Wayne Lee said he wanted to amend the agreement with Outfront guaranteeing the city would be able to have access to a certain amount of time each year to run its own advertisements, prior to signing the lease.

“We want some meaningful time for events,” he said.

But the rest of the council preferred to approve the agreement with an eye toward staying in communication with representatives from Outfront, under the assumption officials would be notified when there would be vacancy available for city use.

McCuen said the company has similar agreements with other cities throughout the Bay Area, and gave assurance that there would likely be regular opportunities for the city to post its own advertisements on the billboard.

As the Super Bowl creeps closer to coming to Santa Clara in the winter, McCuen said he expected that window of time would likely be entirely booked by advertisers, do to proximity to San Francisco International Airport, but he said much of the rest of the year is up for negotiation.

“If there is free space that is not sold, we would obviously offer it up to the city,” said McCuen.

Officials have said the sign will help draw attention to Millbrae, hopefully encourage people to patronize local businesses, and help establish the city as a more modern and innovative community.

“This is a way for the city to brand itself,” said Community Development Director Deborah Nelson. “We think it will serve the city well.”

Before the sign is installed, it needs to be approved by the California Department of Transportation, which has jurisdiction over Highway 101, and the Federal Aviation Administration, because the site is so close to the airport.

Ultimately, officials said they believe the benefits the sign will provide, both in terms of branding and revenue, will be a benefit for Millbrae.

“This is a very important step forward for the city,” said Mayor Robert Gottschalk.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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