Eastern Michigan University will soon be advertising on
a new LED billboard.
Installation of the two-sided billboard at Exit 183 facing
I-94 near Huron Street in Ypsilanti is tentatively scheduled
for June, according to Scott Furcolow, general manager,
Adams Outdoor Advertising, Ann Arbor.
Currently, Adams Outdoor is cutting vegetation around
the designated location, preparing to remove the existing
sign, and reviewing capital expenditures and vendors.
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MAKING WAY FOR THE NEW: This old billboard
(above, right) has occupied an easement near
Exit
183 along I-94 since 1983. Currently, Adams
Outdoor
Advertising is cutting vegetation around
the location
and plans to remove the existing sign
to make way
for a double-sided LED digital billboard
(above,
left). The digital billboard is expected to be
installed sometime during June.
|
Under an agreement for a period of the next 20 years,
Adams Outdoor will pay approximately $35,000 per year for
the lease of the sign to the City of Ypsilanti. The city,
in turn, will provide one 8-second digital ad per rotation
continuously to EMU and the Ypsilanti Area Convention and
Visitors Bureau (YACVB). Ads in a rotation range from one
to no more than six. According to the agreement, ads promoting
sex, tobacco, alcohol, gambling (excluding the Michigan
Lottery) and other institutions of higher learning are
not permitted on the board.
"I'm really excited about this project," Furcolow said.
The new sign will be taller and wider than the current
35-foot sign. Furcolow expects it to be 17 feet taller.
Debbie Locke-Daniels, executive director of the YACVB,
was excited to hear the news.
"I am extremely pleased we will soon see the sign go up," Locke-Daniels
said. "We look forward to promoting our summer events and
continuing our strong partnership with the City and EMU
for the next two decades."
Eastern Michigan and the YACVB,
which had leased the land from the city for $1 per year
for 10 years and shared advertising space, constructed
the current sign in 1986.
"I am very glad to see this project coming to fruition," said
Theodore G. Coutilish, associate vice president, EMU Office
of Marketing and Communications. "This is a win for everyone."
