PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- It's the electronic billboard at the center of swirling controversy along Grant Street.

Advocates say it would add a "wow factor" to downtown and a lot of money's been sunk into it already. Opponents, including some people who live downtown, say this would be a mistake for Pittsburgh.

Lamar Advertising's digital billboard on the parking authority's new Grant Street center is now going through normal channels, after controversy over the original ok bypassing the public hearings.

Lamar Advertising Vice President Stan Geier said the billboard would enhance the downtown.

"We could broadcast Steelers games, Pirates games, anything. It's basically a large television screen that has that ability," said Geier.

But that pitch is dismissed by area residents like Don Carter, who said it will bring big flashing ads 24 hours a day, and a black mark on downtown's image.

"The Lamar billboard will not only spoil and dominate an important vista, but it will also be a rude intrusion into a grand open space never intended to be the Times Square of Pittsburgh," said Carter

Carter is one of the residents who signed petitions opposing both the billboard and a large, long message ticker.

"So it's not as if it's only the sign itself that you'll see. You're going to see reflections of that sign all the time, blinking, blinking, blinking," said Carter.

Council President Doug Shields is among the council members who oppose the sign. Shields said new billboards downtown are illegal.

"You can't go out and do something illegal and then say 'but I spent all this money on it'. Well, that's your problem. You should have gone back and read the directions and you would have known," said Shields.

It could be a few months before the zoning board decides the matter. In the meantime, the electronic billboard remains unfinished.