Northlake's Fall Weekends Now Run From the Rink to the Truck Park
A year ago, none of these three places operated inside Northlake's town limits: a rink with a big-screen sports bar, a neighborhood sports bar on Robson Ranch Road, and a truck park that will host the town's fireworks. In 2026 all three arrived. Each has its own owner, its own hours and its own reason for being here. Together they cover a full fall week. Hockey practice is at Chadwick Parkway, Sunday football is on Robson Ranch Road, and Saturday nights are at FM 407 and Thompson Road.
The Children's Health StarCenter Multisport Northlake opened on March 31 at 13850 Chadwick Parkway. The Dallas Stars announced it as a public-private venture with the Town of Northlake. The building covers 225,000 square feet. Inside are two NHL-regulation sheets of ice and eight basketball courts that convert to 16 volleyball courts. It is the 11th StarCenter in the Metroplex, joining locations that include Lewisville, Euless and Frisco.
The Stars' own history shows how much has changed. When the team arrived in Dallas in 1993, the area had one sheet of regulation ice that ran year-round, 250 children in recreational leagues and no high school hockey. Today more than 15,000 North Texas children and over 9,000 adults skate and play on more than 23 sheets. Northlake's two sheets are a small share of that total, but they bring the drive to practice down to a few minutes.
At the opening, Mayor Brian Montini said the project was built "without relying on existing property tax revenue or placing burdens on our residents." The opening announcements did not publish the financing terms behind that statement.
If you have never been on the ice, start with the Dallas Stars' Try Skating for Free program. It lists Northlake on its October 2026 schedule. Each session includes 30 minutes of instruction from trained coaches. When scheduling allows, participants can also stay for that day's public skate at no charge. Anyone who has already taken part in a StarCenter on-ice program isn't eligible. The page doesn't give exact Northlake class dates. Questions go to (214) GO-SKATE or the information desk.
The ice isn't the only draw. StarCenter advertises pickleball open play and court rentals for all ages and skill levels. For weekday evenings, that may be the most useful thing in the building.
Opening-day plans put Shark Club Sports Bar & Grill in the building by June. It opened in August instead, as the brand's second U.S. location after Plano. The concept started in downtown Vancouver in 1993. It grew across Canada and later expanded to the U.K. and the U.S. after Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi bought it. That ownership helps explain why the bar is attached to the rink rather than across the parking lot.
The Dallas Morning News counted 37 TVs and two 20-foot media walls. The Cross Timbers Gazette reported a menu that includes smothered fries with barbacoa and jalapeños, jambalaya, butter chicken and Frito pie, along with wings, burgers and pizza. Weekend brunch was in the plans. The Stars' release said Shark Club would also run the Shark Shack, the building's concession stand with a coffee and smoothie bar.
Shark Club calls itself a "go-to pre and post activity spot for athletes, families, and fans." Its schedule supports that. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., when weekday practices tend to end, and again from 10 p.m. to close. We found no published Stars watch-party schedule for the Northlake location this season, so ask the staff before planning a game night around one.
GOATs Arena Sports Bar & Grill at 1633 Robson Ranch Road serves the part of town farther from the interstate. It is the fourth GOATs in the Metroplex, but this one is locally owned by a small group of partners. They told the Cross Timbers Gazette they searched for about two years before finding the site. They describe GOATs as "more of a neighborhood bar." The grand opening was Friday, Sept. 4, just as football season began.
The two bars serve different kinds of weeks. Shark Club is built around the rink's schedule. GOATs plans its week around recurring nights. Its location page lists Wild Wing Wednesday, with 10 wings for $10 in any sauce, and game-day watch parties on Sundays. Its Northlake blog also mentions Taco Tuesdays, DJ nights on Fridays and Saturdays, and NFL Sunday Ticket alongside college football. The menu includes wings, wagyu burgers and Tex-Mex, with craft beer and cocktails.
Hilltop Truck Park at 8150 Thompson Road, near FM 407, sat just outside town limits for years. A development agreement signed in July brought it into Northlake. In its announcement, the park acknowledged that many people had assumed it was already part of town, but "technically, we never were." The same announcement named Hilltop the official home of Northlake's fireworks celebrations. The park says it is working with the town to "bring back an incredible hometown event." Neither the July report nor Hilltop's current event listings give a fireworks date.
Hilltop is where Northlake's fall calendar is most crowded right now. Eight trucks are permanent: Indian Creek BBQ, Gogi Time Korean BBQ, El Villa Mexican Food, Ice Ice Baby, SAUCE'D, Baja Quesadilla, CHOW Gluten Free Truck and CHIXN WANGZ. Visiting trucks rotate on a schedule that changes often. The site promises live music every weekend. It also runs a Sunday farmers market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a Twilight Market every other Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m.
Hilltop's event listings for the rest of the year:
Joining the town also changed some everyday details. The July report said Northlake police would officially patrol the property, and the speed limit on Thompson Road was set at 25 miles per hour.
Each venue keeps different hours, and together they cover almost every evening. Hours below come from each business's own site as of this month. Earlier news coverage printed some opening hours that have since changed.
| Day | StarCenter's Shark Club | GOATs Arena | Hilltop bar hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 11 a.m.–11 p.m. | Noon–11 p.m. | 4–10 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 11 a.m.–11 p.m. | Noon–11 p.m. | 2–10 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 11 a.m.–11 p.m. | Noon–11 p.m. | Noon–10 p.m. |
| Thursday | 11 a.m.–11 p.m. | Noon–11 p.m. | Noon–10 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m.–midnight | Noon–midnight | Noon–10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m.–midnight | 10 a.m.–midnight | Noon–10 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10 a.m.–11 p.m. | 10 a.m.–11 p.m. | 10 a.m.–10 p.m. |
Sunday has the most overlap. Hilltop's farmers market opens at 10 a.m., the same hour both bars open their doors for game day. On Saturdays, the two bars stay open two hours after Hilltop closes.
Two larger projects haven't been built yet. Hilltop wants to replace the food trucks with a food court-style venue called the Hilltop Hangout. It would connect to a nine-hole, par-3 golf course with a deck overlooking it, and a parking garage is also in the plans. The July report gave no construction or opening dates, and we found no later update.
The area around the StarCenter is also still being planned. Under the town's plans, the I-35W and SH 114 corner would gain more retail, restaurants, offices and entertainment, surrounded by green space and trails that connect to residential communities and hotels. The Cambria Hotel and Northlake Conference Center have already opened nearby. For now, a fall evening there means the rink and the bar attached to it.
If one of these new spots has become part of your family's week and you're starting to think about what your next home in North Texas looks like, Texas Home Life Realty can help you plan that move around the routines you already have. Schedule a call with Bret and Molly whenever the timing feels right.
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