When Freehold Families Can Actually Skate at DICK'S House of Sport This Winter

If your kids are in class from morning to mid-afternoon, how many hours of open skate at Freehold Raceway Mall's indoor rink can they actually use?

The posted schedule shows plenty of hours. The ones that fit a school week are far fewer. When The Field at DICK'S House of Sport turns into an ice rink on Friday, November 27, it will offer 17 hours of open skate in a typical week. Eight of those hours fall Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. For a household working around a school day, the season comes down to four sessions a week, plus a few days on the calendar that break the pattern.

The week, session by session

Here is the open-skate schedule as Freehold Raceway Mall lists it, with a column showing which sessions overlap a typical school day.

That leaves nine hours a week outside the school day, split across Friday evening, two Saturday sessions and Sunday morning. Friday is the only weeknight with open skate, so a Tuesday-after-practice skate isn't an option. The rink is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Christmas falls on a Friday in 2026, so that week's Friday evening session is gone.

The schedule also comes with a reminder: the rink "is not open during all store hours," according to the listing's disclaimer. Being able to shop at DICK'S at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday doesn't mean the ice is open.

Those weekday late-morning sessions do serve people. They work for toddlers and preschoolers, for adults with flexible days, and for the stretches of the winter when school is out. For everyone else, the useful hours are the evening and weekend ones.

Opening day is the longest open skate on the schedule

One date breaks the weekly pattern in families' favor. On Black Friday, November 27, the first day of the season, open skate runs from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. That's nine straight hours, as much as an entire regular weekend's worth of after-school ice in a single day.

It's also likely to be the busiest day of the mall's year, and that matters here. The rink uses reserved time slots. Season passholders pick a time for their first skate, and they collect the pass at that same visit. After that, they book each future skate by scanning the QR code on the pass. If you want Black Friday afternoon, book the slot early. Don't count on walking in.

What the season pass covers, and when the family pass pays off

Early-bird season passes go on sale starting November 15. DICK'S lists two options on its scheduling page:

• Individual pass: $30
• Family pass: $100 for up to four people

The math depends on household size. Four individual passes cost $120, so the family pass saves a family of four $20. For three people, three individual passes cost $90, which is $10 less than the family pass. The family pass only comes out ahead once the fourth person is on it.

The fine print shapes how the pass actually gets used:

1. It's good only during open-skate hours, so it doesn't extend the schedule above.
2. It doesn't cover ice-rink rentals, so a team or birthday group can't use it for a private booking.
3. Only the people named on the pass can use it. You can't hand it to a cousin visiting for the holidays.
4. It's non-refundable and non-transferable.

The listings don't give a single-session price or say whether skate rentals are available. The store directs questions to [email protected]. Before you buy, it's worth asking about rentals, because pass math changes quickly if everyone needs skates every visit.

The pass also only works on ice that's open on a schedule. That's the real reason the indoor rink matters in Freehold Township, because the outdoor ice nearby doesn't keep one.

The ice that keeps no schedule

Monmouth County Park System allows natural-ice skating at Turkey Swamp Park, along with Holmdel Park and Shark River Park, only when the ice is at least five inches thick. When it's safe, the county posts "Skating Today" signs. According to the county's winter activities page, it normally takes a week to 10 days of subfreezing temperatures to get there.

Turkey Swamp's ice depends on the weather. It's free when it happens, but you can't plan a birthday weekend around a cold snap. The rink at DICK'S runs from late November through late February no matter what the thermometer says, and you can reserve a time days ahead. A household can hold a pass for the scheduled sessions and still watch for the county's signs after a long freeze.

A wing about a year old

The rink makes more sense once you know the space. DICK'S House of Sport was scheduled to open at Freehold Raceway Mall on October 31, 2025, according to NJBIZ. The 100,000-square-foot store took over the first-level space that used to house Lord & Taylor. DICK'S describes The Field as a running track around an artificial-turf infield where shoppers can try out gear, and it converts to ice for the holiday season. Most of the year, the track and turf are what you'll see there.

The wing around it has filled in since then. GAP opened on Level 1 of the lower level in the DICK'S House of Sport wing in August, with a grand-opening weekend that ran through Sunday, August 16, NJ.com reported. On the other side of the mall, Fogo de Chão has signed a lease for an 8,000-square-foot restaurant in the outdoor village by the center-court entrance. The mall's owner, Macerich, hasn't announced an opening date, NJBIZ reported.

The dates between now and the first skate

From October 22, there are five weeks and one day until the ice opens, and the store and the mall have a few dated events along the way:

1. Saturday, October 31: One year after the store's scheduled opening date, Halloween brings two events at Dave & Buster's on Level 1. The Boo Bash runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a pancake banquet, a costume contest and activities. The adults-only Moonlight Mixer follows from 7 to 10 p.m. Reservations are required, and the package includes a banquet and three hours of game play.
2. Sunday, November 8: DICK'S House of Sport hosts a Running Workshop with EVO Health & Performance from 10 to 11 a.m. on Level 1, with sign-up online. It's one of the last weekends to see The Field set up as a track before the ice goes in.
3. Sunday, November 15: Early-bird season passes go on sale.
4. Friday, November 27: The rink opens with open skate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
5. Friday, December 25: The rink is closed, and that week's Friday evening session is lost.

After that, the regular schedule runs into late February. That's Friday from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and again from 6 to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with weekday late mornings open to anyone whose day allows it.

If you're mapping out your family's winter weekends in Freehold Township, or thinking about which parts of town put places like this closest to home, I'm glad to talk it through. Reach out to Greggory Casaburi, and let's connect.