Arlington’s mall has a new anchor that wants shoppers to do more than browse: DICK’S House of Sport is now open at The Parks Mall, bringing a two-story, 120,000-square-foot sports retail complex into the former Sears space. The store pairs conventional gear shopping with golf simulators, multi-sport batting cages, a rock-climbing wall and an outdoor field.
The City of Arlington described the store as a new source of energy for a previously quiet wing of the mall. The concept turns a vacant department-store anchor into a destination where customers can test equipment, practice skills and shop in the same trip.
Dick’s House of Sport, an experiential retail concept featuring virtual golf, virtual batting cages and a rock climbing wall, is open at The Parks Mall at Arlington. The company converted the 120,000 sq. ft. former Sears location for the new retail concept:https://t.co/9ShCiQ4TOf pic.twitter.com/xW8OTQhbgg
— City of Arlington (@CityOfArlington) July 30, 2026
Earlier this year, the Arlington location would be one of only five DICK’S House of Sport stores in Texas and one of roughly three dozen nationwide. Planned features include TrackMan golf bays, HitTrax cages for baseball, softball and soccer, a climbing wall and an outdoor sports field.
A Former Sears Anchor Gets A Very Different Second Act
The opening is the first major piece of a larger Parks Mall redevelopment plan approved by Arlington leaders in 2023. Under the agreement, the City of Arlington would require DICK’S to invest at least $25 million to convert the former Sears location, while the mall owner would invest at least $20 million to redevelop the retailer’s old space by 2030.
The city also approved performance-based incentives tied to the project, including grant payments equal to 70% of the city’s share of new sales-tax revenue from the House of Sport, capped at $500,000 annually and $5 million total for the first phase. A second phase could receive up to $5 million tied to the redevelopment of the existing DICK’S space.
The deal arrived as the mall faced the same pressure confronting many large shopping centers: less value in traditional anchor space and a growing need to give visitors a reason to stay. KERA News reported that Parks Mall drew about 8.3 million visitors annually but had seen its property valuation fall 19.3% over five years when the redevelopment was approved.
More Than A Sporting-Goods Store
For Arlington shoppers, the practical difference is that the new location is designed around participation as much as merchandise. Someone can compare clubs, take swings in a golf simulator, test a bat in a cage or scale the climbing wall without leaving the store.
That experience-first format is also the mall’s larger bet: replacing an empty department-store box with a place built for repeat visits, community events and sports practice. Whether it delivers the promised boost in foot traffic will become clearer as the store settles into its first full season at The Parks Mall.
