Los Angeles, CA (March 4, 2020) – The City of Los Angeles released a Request for Information (RFI) formally beginning the process to identify an experienced business partner to develop a self-sustaining, world-class street furniture program. A briefing session for the Out of Home, Digital Online, Wireless and Design industries will be held on March 17, 2020. The RFI solicits creative approaches, leading technologies and industry best practices to develop a Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program (STAP) that will replace and expand upon the City’s current program, which has been in place since 2001 and which is set to expire at the end of 2021.

“The City envisions a program that not only achieves the essential goals of providing shelter, shade, safety, and comfort to transit riders and pedestrians, but also improves the quality of life for those who live in, work in, and visit the city,” said Adel Hagekhalil, Executive Director of StreetsLA, the City agency managing the STAP and overseeing the competitive bid process.

The RFI allows participating industries to inform a subsequent Request for Proposals (RFP), expected this summer. The RFP will result in the selection of a business partner that shares the City’s vision to create a street furniture program that supports increased use of transit and alternative transportation; facilitates shared use of the sidewalk; provides wayfinding, local services and other relevant information; contributes to local economic activity; and is self-sustaining through static, digital, and interactive advertising. The integration of emerging and smart technologies, including digital, wireless, and 5G, is also expected to be an important part of the STAP.

For the past two decades, the City of Los Angeles’ street furniture program has operated on a traditional business model supported by advertising revenue. In the STAP, the City intends to work collaboratively with a qualified partner/team that shares its vision and can deliver thoughtful design and reliable implementation, to influence travel choice and improve neighborhoods while garnering and appropriate share out of home advertising expenditures in the Los Angeles market. The City will consider providing capital for the purchase of STAP elements and anticipates an enhanced permitting process for the roll out of new program elements.

Out of home advertising revenues rose 4.5% in 2018, resulting in $8 billion in revenue in the United States. This is a record amount of revenue for an industry that has recorded 35 consecutive quarters of growth, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. The City seeks to benefit from this growth by collaborating with a commercial partner to develop a program that is innovative and flexible, adapting to changing roles that out of home advertising plays in supporting online advertising, but still serving as a primary medium for traditional advertisers. The City seeks a partner that shares its ambitious vision for the STAP as a program that delivers measurable value for the taxpayers of Los Angeles as well as for advertisers.

During the anticipated term of the STAP contract, the Los Angeles area will host many of the most famous sporting events in the world:

2022 Super Bowl
2023 College Football Championship 2026 World Cup
2028 Olympics

Los Angeles is also the permanent host city for the movie industry’s Academy and Golden Globe awards ceremonies and the recording industry’s Grammy awards. Los Angeles is also the second largest Out of Home Advertising market in the United States with $508,822,400 spent on billboards, transit, street furniture and other forms of out of home advertising in 2018.

RFI and Briefing Session
The RFI Briefing Session will take place on March 17, 2020 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time in the Edward R. Roybal BPW Session Room, Room 350, City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 90012. The RFI is available via the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network, https://www.labavn.org, ID# 39274.

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