Phoenix Arizona may be best known for its desert landscape, booming real estate, and year-round, sunshine. But if you are in the billboard industry all roads lead to Phoenix.
Phoenix and Out of Home – The History
In the 1960s, Karl Eller transformed a Phoenix billboard company into Eller Outdoor. Eller aggressively expanded the company’s billboard footprint across the country, helping modernize the industry and bringing new professionalism to outdoor media sales and operations. Eller Outdoor ultimately became part of Clear Channel Communications, which later evolved into Clear Channel Outdoor.
William Levine started Outdoor Systems in Phoenix. In 1984 he sold the business to Arte Moreno who had worked in the Phoenix advertising community. Moreno took the company public in 1996. Outdoor Systems merged with Infinity Broadcasting in 1999 and later became part of CBS Corporation and subsequently OUTFRONT.
Phoenix and Out of Home – Today
The center of the Phoenix out of home industry is 2850 E Camelback Road. Arte Moreno owns the building. LeClair Calihan is headquartered there. Branded Cities has an office on the first floor of the building. American Outdoor Advertising and Clear Channel Outdoor have offices nearby. Becker Boards and Harkey Media are also headquartered in Phoenix.
The Moreno-controlled companies Verde Outdoor and Verde Outdoor Capital are in Phoenix. Verde Outdoor recently sold its out of home assets to Lamar Advertising but Verde Outdoor Capital is actively making $1-50 million loans to out of home company. Moreno purchased 63 million shares of Clear Channel Outdoor common stock last year. Looks to Billboard Insider like the shares will be worth $153 million when the Clear Channel Outdoor sale to Mubadala Capital closes.
Finally, two out of home advertising industry brokers, Drachman M&A Co. and Kalil and Co are headquartered less than an hour away from Phoenix in Tucson. Out of home industry appraiser and broker SignValue is nearby in Mesa, Arizona.
Phoenix was also home to Metro Phoenix Bank. Metro Phoenix Bank was an active out of home lender from 2007 until it was acquired by Alerus financial in July 2022. Alerus ceased making new out of home loans last year. What might have been is not what is. Alerus missed a huge opportunity. We hear that Steve Haggard, the formerly of Metro Phoenix Bank and now the Director of Specialty Industries at Northrim Bank is contemplating a return to out of home lending.
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