![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/billboard-by-john-maldonado-unsplash-e1785882225522.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA billboard can look like nature at least. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA billboard can look like nature at least. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Unsplash \/ John Maldonado<\/p>\n
Billboards could be coming to green spaces as Dallas Park and Recreation faces an uneasy financial future<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Monday, department staff briefed the City Council\u2019s Parks, Trails and the Environment Committee on additional revenue opportunities within the system. Specifically, Deputy Director Ryan O\u2019Connor detailed a plan that could see digital billboards placed on land managed by the department, a proposal which he said could net the city millions of dollars in revenue annually.<\/p>\n The proposal comes at a time when department leaders have been vocal in their desire<\/a> to maximize revenue opportunities with the city facing budgetary constraints. City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has asked the department to cut 15% of its budget<\/a>, totaling roughly $13.1 million, ahead of the upcoming budgeting process as Dallas faces a $51 million budget gap. \u00a0<\/p>\n Where?<\/p>\n Sign up for the This Week\u2019s Top Stories newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n THANK YOU!<\/p>\n You’re all set.<\/p>\n CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n O\u2019Connor said that neighborhood parks \u201cclearly would not be\u201d appropriate for the billboards, and that the department would not support placing them there. Park staff previously told the park board in May that the rollout would be limited to 10 to15 locations citywide. The billboards would be placed on the perimeter of parks facing major roadways, with each custom-designed to complement the space\u2019s existing character, according to the briefing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council members were generally supportive of the plan on Monday. Lorie Blair, who is originally from Southern California, said she had seen similar billboards in public spaces during trips to Los Angeles and encouraged staff not to limit themselves while searching for further revenue streams.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are opportunities galore as to what it can look like, how it can operate, and the opportunity for revenue, because everybody wants to advertise,\u201d Blair said at the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the presentation, the billboards would be operated under a lease agreement with a third-party entity, which would also fund their construction. Revenue from seven to 10 locations could generate up to $10 million per year, while a 30-year systemwide agreement could net the city roughly $300 million, staff said.<\/p>\n Paul Ridley, who represents much of downtown and Oak Lawn, said he was \u201creluctant\u201d to approve further advertising in public spaces, but understood the need. He asked for city-led review of each billboard\u2019s design before construction, something which staff said will be implemented during the potential rollout. Oversight will also extend to the messaging, staff said, as alcohol and tobacco advertisements will not be accepted, similar to the sidewalk kiosks<\/a> the city recently unveiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI recognize the imperative that you\u2019re operating under to increase revenues of the park department in order to keep up the fine service that you provide to our park system,\u201d Ridley said.<\/p>\n Need the revenue<\/p>\n The presentation Monday was the second in a series of briefings from park staff on how the department can adapt to shrinking general fund budgets. Upcoming briefings will touch on governance and revenue models, while the first detailed plans to turn part of Fair Park into a multi-use district<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plans for Fair Park could see parking lots redeveloped into retail, lodging or entertainment centers to create what department officials hope will be a self-driving revenue creator for the system. In April, Dallas Park and Recreation Director John Jenkins told the Observer that it and similar initiatives are crucial to weathering uncertain times, adding that \u201curban park systems are not going to survive if they don\u2019t change their model of thinking.\u201d Like most general fund departments, Dallas Park and Recreation has previously had its budget cut both<\/a> in 2024 and 2025, despite new parks opening in the meantime. <\/p>\n Jenkins also told the Observer that he supported at least some of the potential revenue being directed into a separate fund dedicated to long-term maintenance at Fark Park, rather than returning revenues entirely to the city\u2019s general fund. The idea seems to be a recurring one, as the department\u2019s proposal for the billboards includes the recommendation that 25% of the potential revenue be put into an endowment fund for the wider system\u2019s operation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we get the endowment going, now imagine 30 or 40 years from now, if you got an endowment that somehow gets to $25 million or $50 million dollars today,\u201d Jenkins told the park board in May. \u201cIn 30 or 40 years from today, you\u2019re probably looking at something that\u2019s going to be worth probably in the range of half a billion to close to a billion dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n At the committee meeting Monday, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson said he was open to the idea of advertising as parks, but raised questions about department governance after O\u2019Connor told council members that PKR would manage the revenues.<\/p>\n \u201cMy reservation is the lack of accountability when it comes to the financial part,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s not under the city manager, which basically means that we will vote on something as a council that we won\u2019t really have accountability to.\u201d<\/p>\n The park department is overseen by Jenkins, who himself reports to the park board. Staff told the committee that the department would still be accountable financially to the council through the budgeting process.<\/p>\n Staff will review the committee\u2019s recommendations and return to the council with more details at a later date. Staff previously told the Park Board the initiative, if approved, could take 18 months to complete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A billboard can look like nature at least. Unsplash \/ John Maldonado Billboards could be coming to green…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3084,102,104,103],"class_list":["post-398381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-city-hall","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Mockup](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-04-4.33.11-PM.png\")
The park seen here is a model and does not exist in the Dallas park system. The Xs shown in red are meant to indicate where billboards may be located.<\/p>\n