Grandscape at The Colony is Getting a Revolutionary Immersive Entertainment Venue - D Magazine

2 years ago 34

Cosm, a planetary tech institution delivering immersive experiences for sports, entertainment, science, and education, is bringing its caller immersive amusement venue to Grandscape astatine The Colony. Whether it beryllium a sporting event, concert, oregon quality presentation, guests volition acquisition immersive contented done Cosm’s proprietary dome and curved LED surface show technology, which aims to span the spread betwixt virtual and carnal realities.

The Colony venue is designed by Dallas-based HKS. The three-level installation volition beryllium betwixt 65,000 and 75,000 quadrate feet, person a capableness of astir 1,500 guests, and diagnostic a 87-foot diameter LED screen.

“We ever knew Dallas-Fort Worth was going to location either our archetypal oregon 2nd location,” Cosm CEO Jeb Terry—a erstwhile NFL subordinate for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—told D CEO. “We looked astatine Victory Park, we looked astatine the fairgrounds, but erstwhile we started exploring Grandscape, I was truly drawn successful by the area’s developers. In The Colony, we volition beryllium surrounded by precocious attraction to detail, high-quality tenants, and a fast-growing population. All of that adds up to marque our acquisition dynamic successful each way.”

Cosm besides is processing a caller installation successful Los Angeles. Terry wasn’t consenting to stock circumstantial backing numbers, but says the institution is good capitalized done its M&A activity. Cosm’s largest capitalist is Steve Winn’s Mirasol Capital. Winn is the erstwhile chairman, president, and CEO of Dallas-based RealPage.

The archetypal tier wrong Cosm successful The Colony volition beryllium a standing-room country with minimal dynamic seating for prime productions—picture the pit of a performance oregon SRO country astatine AT&T Stadium, Terry said. The 2nd level volition beryllium a tiered seating vessel with lounge-type chairs. The 3rd level volition beryllium much of a socializing barroom country and volition diagnostic an open-air deck.

But each level volition beryllium high-style, Terry said. “Think astir the coolest nine conception of each stadium oregon arena venue you’ve been to—that’s truly the intent,” helium said. “We’re aspiring to beryllium the world’s champion immersive producer.”

After a year-long plan process, Cosm precocious broke crushed connected its Los Angeles location; besides designed by HKS, it’s expected to unfastened successful May 2024. The Colony determination is already successful the plan process and expects a much compressed timeline than the LA site.

“It takes america astir a twelvemonth to spell done the afloat plan process, get things priced, and past commencement construction,” said Mark Williams, HKS’ person for sports stadiums and venues. “Our timeline is each babelike upon the system and proviso chain, but I americium anticipating it to beryllium a spot tighter.”

The Colony venue volition beryllium akin to Los Angeles’, but HKS and Cosm program to marque it distinctly Dallas.

Cosm was built connected the backbone of the acquisition a planetarium delivers—and the institution deploys its tech successful 700 planetariums worldwide. “The planetarium was the world’s archetypal experiential theatre and immersive experience,” Terry said. “The extremity is to instrumentality you to space—as good arsenic educate, inspire, entertain. And that’s truly what we’re doing but applying it to sports, entertainment, and different things.”

The company’s flagship determination is astatine the Cosm Experience Center successful Salt Lake City. The determination is simply a mini mentation of what is coming to Los Angeles and North Texas. In 2022, Cosm—which has much than 200 employees—partnered with NBC to broadcast the Winter Olympics successful the world’s archetypal immersive 8K virtual world unrecorded stream.

“All of a sudden, today’s satellite is coupling the carnal situation with the virtual environment,” Williams said. “At a Cosm, you tin virtually beryllium taken anyplace successful the satellite and person a beforehand enactment seat. But you won’t conscionable ticker it, you volition consciousness similar you are there.”

Cosm has grown done a bid of acquisitions. The woody that anchored the company, Terry says, was its acquisition of Evans & Sutherland, which was founded successful 1968 and pioneered the planetarium and immersive machine graphics fields. Cosm besides acquired LiveLike VR successful 2020.

Looking ahead, Terry says his squad is presently identifying the adjacent 8 markets for Cosm. “Our aspiration is scale,” helium said. “Over the adjacent 5 to 10 years, we program to person galore more.” As the scaling efforts intensify, Terry is studying the aboriginal occurrence of Dallas-based Topgolf. “We’re truly trying to exemplary our efforts aft them,” helium said. “And eventually, I deliberation Dallas-Fort Worth tin beryllium location to much than 1 Cosm.”