From videogame competitions to public art displays to Times Square-style New Year’s Eve celebrations, the Plaza at Victory Park is a Texas-sized testament to the ability of digital displays to bring people together.

Located in Dallas’ Victory Park, a 75-acre mixed-use development anchored by the American Airlines Center, the Plaza is home to 11 of the world’s largest and most technically sophisticated high-resolution LED screens, accompanied by surround sound and theatrical lighting for a unique digital experience.

“Victory Park’s atmosphere reflects a non-traditional, dynamic urban lifestyle,” says Andrew Gallina, chief marketing officer at Victory Park. “It’s a place where someone can come enjoy dinner, drinks, shopping, sporting or entertainment events, catch a movie or some amazing digital art in an immersive multimedia environment that serves as a community gathering place.”

Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects —the company behind Time Warner Center in New York, Downtown Disney in Anaheim and other high-profile builds—the $3 billion Victory Park project opened in 2001 with the American Airlines Center. Other anchors include House of Blues and W Dallas Victory Hotel & Residences.

The Plaza at Victory Park’s screens—10-pixel-pitch OLite Barco LED boards—offer an engaging mix of content including corporate advertising, digital art, animation and film shorts from artists around the world.

“The screens and content give visitors access to an art form that many have not had a chance to experience yet,” says Gallina. “Even our sponsors’ spots seem more like digital art than a commercial. The activities that are possible with the displays, like family-friendly movie nights, the AFI-Dallas Film Festival, videogame competitions and other special events make Victory Park a community gathering place.”

Eight of the screens—four on each side of the Plaza—move along horizontal tracks to allow for various configurations and motion possibilities. They can also be combined in sets of four to create 31-by-53-foot “super screens” with HD resolution.

At the entryway to the Plaza stands a 19-by-32-foot LED Portal Screen and The Icon Tower showcasing two 20-by-20-foot LED screens running 12 hours a day. Inside the Park are six kiosks featuring 45-inch, portrait-oriented LCD screens.

High-fidelity sound and an extensive theatrical lighting system heighten the experience, which has included Wii videogame competitions, a popular New Year’s Eve celebration, commissioned and submitted digital art presentations, community programming from local schools, universities and museums, and live news programming for local ABC affiliate WFAA.

“We originally thought the displays would just be a playback system,” says Gallina. “But once we launched, we soon realized the screens have provided an unforeseen human element, and how important they are to special events.”

Among those, he notes, was a memorable occasion when the Victory Park screens hosted a live satellite feed from U.S. soldiers in Iraq to families in Texas, and the Park’s participation in the worldwide Pangea Day global film event.

Of course, the screens’ impact also makes them attractive to businesses looking to reach the crowds of Plaza visitors.

“They are a great way for advertisers to display their content in the growing outdoor/out-of-home medium,” Gallina says.

And those crowds have been understandably awed with the Plaza at Victory Park experience, referring to it as “Dallas’ Times Square,” he adds.

“They are always impressed by the size and quality of the screens. They are amazed when the screens move, and surprised by how great the content looks. They use words like dynamic, exciting, different, innovative, refreshing and impactful (when describing the experience.)”

But, as successful as the Plaza has been, officials haven’t stopping working to make it better. Among the next big pushes will be to bring more interactivity to the Plaza at Victory Park experience.

“We are always looking for the next big development in digital media,” Gallina says. “In our first year, we focused mainly on getting the system to function as designed, and we couldn’t really explore the world of interactive media. The modern-day visitor wants to be able to interact with technology.”

(Photos by Jermey Woodhouse / Pixelchrome.com)