Where to Tailgate and Watch Football in Dallas

This fun-loving plaza is flanked by Jaxon, the Exchange, and other reasons to visit, but on Cowboys game days, all eyes turn to the massive video wall anchoring the area. That’s where you’ll see the game played out in larger-than-life spectacle. Spread out in the grass or bring a chair, avail yourself of beer and canned cocktail specials, and then enjoy some competition of your own by playing lawn games during the commercials.

On most nights, Green Light Social is a party spot, complete with DJs, bottle service, and the occasional Champagne gun. You know the type. But on Saturdays and Sundays, it turns into a way-more-relaxed place to watch football. There’s a 30-foot LED wall broadcasting the game with the sound on, and the bar serves all the food and drink specials you need from kickoff to the final whistle.

Stan’s has been in business for 70 years. The place has perfected a few things during that time, like how to host a great day of football. On Saturdays and Sundays, the many TVs are tuned to all the games, and the bar pours $3.75 domestic pints, so you can drink for cheap in victory or defeat. Just be sure to soak up some of that alcohol by ordering from one the city’s best bar food menus, with burgers, nachos, and an impressive meatball sub.

Any bar with 44 TVs and 20 taps of Texas beer is off to a great start. There’s not a bad seat in the house at Frankie’s, with two levels and screens everywhere you look. But combine football with weekend brunch specials, and you’re even better positioned to spend a day here. Pick-and-choose from Chicken & Waffles, Chilaquiles, Cocoa Pebbles-crusted French toast, and other comfort food dishes, plus $4 Mimosas, a Champagne Punch, and the Hail Mary—that’s a Bloody Mary garnished with bacon and grilled shrimp, a.k.a. a balanced breakfast.

For top tailgate action, go straight to the source. AT&T Stadium is the shiny, spacious home of the Dallas Cowboys, and while there’s plenty to do inside the gates (like watching football while overpaying for beers), the best parties happen outside. Tailgating is permitted in the grassy areas located on the perimeter of the parking lots, and spaces fill up fast, so get there early. Revelers are permitted to hang out from the time the lots open—usually five hours prior to kick-off—until two hours after the game, which means you can indulge in the rare post-game tailgate. Or you can skip the game entirely and spend the day gleefully grilling and drinking outdoors.

Just down the street from AT&T Stadium, Texas Live is home to multiple venues, including the Arena, which is where you’re heading. The 35,000-square-foot venue sports a 100-foot HD screen, tiered seating to ensure you never miss a play, and a massive bar to keep you good and hydrated. You can always swing by and hope for the best, but purchasing a ticket to the Game Day Experience guarantees you unfettered access to all the festivities.

With 12,000-square-feet of indoor-outdoor space at your disposal, feel free to spread out and point your eyes toward the nearest TV. A plethora of screens show all your favorite college and pro games, and when the Cowboys take the field, it’s Game Daze time. Score discounted drinks and get your fill of the Dak Burger, a two-hander topped with mushrooms, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, and bacon-onion jam. To boot, two dollars from each order goes toward Dak Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish Foundation.

Cowboys legend Bill Bates hung up his cleats in 1997, and while he’s no longer delivering bone-crunching tackles, he’s still impacting games via his Sunday tailgate parties. To partake, head to Boiling Tails, which is located across from the stadium. The ticketed event features barbecue and all the sides, plus unlimited beer, wine, and Margaritas under a massive tent with a DJ and huge TVs. You can also take photos with three-time Super Bowl champ Bates and Rowdy, the official Cowboys mascot.

Christie’s is a Dallas institution that established deep roots in Uptown before decamping to Greenville Avenue for a two-story space with a rooftop deck. The digs may be different, but the beers and sports remain. Stop in to watch a game, and you’ll find TVs everywhere you look, from flat-screens above the bar to a couple multi-screen video walls. The wings, burgers, and flatbreads will treat you right, and the menu also extends to less expected fare, like steak frites, chicken parm, and a solid charcuterie board.

Located next to the American Airlines Center—the home of the Mavericks and Stars, mind you—Hero maintains its sports-watching bonafides during football season by tuning its many TVs to the Cowboys and a full bill of NCAA games. Treat yourself to better-than-usual bar food and a bounty of draft beers, then hunker down to watch your team have at it. The day’s most-anticipated game will appear on the 24-foot screen, where players look large enough to tackle IRL.

If you want the true Mustang football experience, make a beeline to the Boulevard—essentially a big block party—to tailgate with the fun-loving students and alumni who gather there before kick-off. Whether you’re planning to set up your own tent or simply wander the grounds in search of benevolent strangers, you’ll find plenty of food, drinks, music, and merriment leading up to each home game.

If you want to watch football on multiple 110-inch video walls in the shadow of the Cowboys’ practice facility while drinking your way through a 90-strong beer list and snacking on Duck Nachos and scorpion pepper aioli-topped burgers, then head to City Works at the Star in Frisco. If you don’t, well, they have other things to eat and drink, too.

Tucked inside the Omni Hotel, the Owners Box is a comfortable, well-lit spot to catch games, drink drinks, and toast your team’s success with a Pork Belly Grilled Cheese. TVs line the bar, but for the best view, claim a seat in front of the 16-foot mega-screen. Or if you’re really serious—and don’t want ambient noises drowning out the announcers—request one of the private tables complete with piped-in isolated sound.