Cedar Park's Growth Spurt: What Texas Stars Fans Should Know About Game Day Traffic

DALL-E's imagining of 'hockey players in a traffic jam'

With home games resuming this weekend after a lengthy road trip, Texas Stars faithful will once again be subjected to the effects of the growth of Cedar Park. The construction and traffic snarls that come from that construction will still be there this month and many into the future.

As Jordie Benn said last month when I chatted with him, when he started in Texas in 2010, the building was the only thing in the area. Now, that is far from the case. From the car dealership and multi-sport facility across the highway to the entire shopping center south of New Hope, the area is far from remote now.

But the really big change and the thing I get asked most often about the area is "what's going on next door?" The answer is 'something massive'. NFM, formerly Nebraska Furniture Mart is going in with Scheel's, a Midwestern staple, to build a positively gargantuan shopping complex that will also feature a hotel.

Coincidentally, if you want a comparison on the size and scale, you can just go to the Stars' practice facility in Frisco and head a ways down State Highway 121 to The Colony. NFM and Scheel's have run a similar play there to great success.

Thousands upon thousands will now flock to Cedar Park for their shopping needs and to gawk at exquisitely styled multi-colored displays of KitchenAid mixers, just as this author did in 2015 when the DFW NFM opened.

You would need to take out a second mortgage to afford this many KitchenAid mixers.

But that's all beside the point. The real effect for now is the closure of turning lane capacity from northbound 183A Frontage to westbound New Hope as well as the closure and rerouting of lanes on westbound New Hope leading up to Avenue of the Stars, the main southside entrance for the arena. The full project stretches from Block House on the west side to CR 180, the street where the Hyatt is located, on the east edge.

According to the city of Cedar Park, the project, which began in October, is slated to take over two years to complete if it stays on schedule. "Spring 2027" is the plan. The final design will see New Hope grow from four lanes of travel to six. It will also include a dedicated right-turn lane for those looking to enter the arena from the south off westbound New Hope. In the meantime, New Hope will have at least two lanes of travel each way, diverted though they may be, as the first order of business was tearing down the median to make room for the diverted lanes to wind through the construction zones.

So, the answer to what is done. The question of 'when' or 'how long' is still yet to be determined.

But, I have a firm belief, long-held and corny as it may be, that I will never complain about traffic getting into the arena. If there are more cars trying to get to the building, that means more people are enjoying Texas Stars hockey, which can only be a good thing for the future prospects of the team, city and business model of hockey in Cedar Park.