A massive video board that the Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center operators want to affix to the arena's southern face has an influential neighbor plenty upset.

Victory project developer Hillwood, which is building a mixed-use, midrise development and pedestrian plaza immediately south of AAC, has invested $30 million in 11 smaller video boards of its own, company officials say.

They fear that AAC's video board would conflict with, not complement, video and audio programming the Hillwood boards are designed to provide. Eight of the screens can move horizontally along elevated tracks.along elevated tracks.

"We've paid considerable attention to how the screens interact with each other," said Kristin Gray, director of Hillwood's Victory Media Network. "Without coordination with our boards, the other screen – it's noise. It's confusing. It's distracting. And we feel like they're drafting off of us."

Talks between arena officials and Hillwood "are under way and continuing," said Dave Brown, vice president and general manager of Center Operating Co., which operates the city-owned AAC.

"This is cutting-edge technology that will be a backdrop for home and away games, as well as for concerts and other entertainment events," Mr. Brown wrote in a statement about the proposed AAC video board. "This will provide a screen that is appropriate for the scale of the plaza, which is the size of a football field. It does not involve the expenditure of any taxpayer funds."

For AAC to build the proposed 30-foot-tall, 50-foot-wide video board – 1,500 square feet in surface area – the Dallas City Council must approve an amendment to a signage provision that prohibits signs or media displays of more than 1,000 square feet from being attached to the arena.

And the City Plan Commission, which reviews and makes recommendations on such cases before they proceed to the council, is scheduled to hear Center Operating Co.'s amendment request Thursday.

MILTON HINNANT / DMN

Hillwood has installed 11 boards and is upset over plans for a 30-foot-tall screen that American Airlines Center's owners call "a centerpiece for an international audience."

Initially, the city's planning and development staff recommended that the plan commission approve the amendment.

Now the staff will recommend that the commission hold it under advisement.

"We still need to know more about the logistics of the sign and how it will be coordinated with other signs in the plaza area," said David Cossum, an assistant director in Dallas' development services department. Based on the city's previous signage rulings, "the concept was not to have another Times Square with unlimited signs, but to create a unique public area where the larger signs were coordinated to create a unique effect."

David Neumann, vice chairman of the plan commission, said he'll reserve judgment on the size amendment at least until Thursday's hearing.

"The question really is this: How does it fit into the character of what's going to be a great entertainment district?" Mr. Neumann said. "This sign is gigantic. I like the idea of these message signs, but I have great pause with this one."

Plan Commissioner Jeff Strater said: "Your average person may say, 'Oh my gosh, what are you doing to the AAC?' A delay might be a win-win. That may allow some time for the two parties to reach a compromise."

Regardless of City Hall's lukewarm reception to the mega-board, Center Operating Co. isn't dawdling: Workers have already removed masonry from the AAC's southern facade, and wood panels cover holes where the video board's moorings would be anchored.

An 18-page internal AAC document indicates the arena-mounted video board would feature audio and high-definition video and be exclusively owned and operated by AAC/Center Operating Co.

The document states that in addition to sports and entertainment content, "sponsors/advertisers will have the opportunity to display messages in a variety of forms." These include commercial spots, short films and animated special effects, according to the document.

The video board would operate from 10 a.m. to about 10:30 p.m. each day, excluding special-event days, during which operating times may change, the document states.

Timing is key to what AAC officials plan for their board, which includes an unveiling before the National Hockey League All-Star Game commences in late January at AAC.

"It will be a centerpiece for an international audience that will hopefully view Dallas as one of the best places in the world to host major events," Mr. Brown wrote.

"If we can find a way to coordinate it with ours, that's my dream," Hillwood's Ms. Gray said. "This is two businesses trying to figure out what's best for the district and what's best for our two entities."

Compromise is the ideal option for City Council member Pauline Medrano, whose District 2 includes AAC and Hillwood's Victory development.

"I want both groups to come to the table to discuss communication and coordination among their signs," Ms. Medrano said. "These are not just going to be your normal advertising billboards. You can't have eight movable screens with one message and have another giant screen on the American Airlines Center with, perhaps, a different or competing message."

E-mail dlevinthal@dallasnews.com