Grand Texas Theme Park: Opening Date Early 2018

Development of Grand Texas Theme Park has been pushed back from its original 2015 completion date.  Press reports now indicate the developer envisioned a late 2017 or early 2018 opening date.

Grand Texas Theme Park and Big Rivers Water Park are planned for a 610-acre parcel in New Caney (Montgomery County), Texas.

The project is situated between US 59 and Texas Highway 242.

The attraction would include a 150-acre Texas-themed amusement park, 40-acre Big Rivers water park, and an equestrian center.  The park will feature seven theme areas related to Texas history and culture, as well a motor sports park, an 83-acre sports park with fields for baseball, soccer, lacrosse, rugby and seven on seven football, an RV park, along with hotels and restaurants.

 

Innovative Leisure Partners will manage the park.  According to the company’s website, Innovative Leisure Partners (“ILP”) is a premier Retail, Entertainment and Leisure company, specializing in developing, constructing and operating high-capacity, mixed-use facilities that service the emerging dynamic of the time-sensitive family.

The Grand Texas Theme Park will feature five roller coasters, dozens of rides and an emphasis on live entertainment, Galland said.

The theme park will be about the same size as Six Flags AstroWorld—a 57-acre theme park that was located in southwest Houston until it closed in 2005. Galland said the park will continue to expand after opening in 2020.

“Houston is a huge marketplace, and as wonderful as it is to go down to Galveston or Kemah, for a family in—say The Woodlands or Kingwood—it can take an hour and a half,” Galland said. “We really feel like being in the north allows us to reach more people that aren’t being served.”

At build-out, Speedsportz Racing Park will feature two European-style kart racing tracks. One of the tracks will host professional kart races and international events, while the other will service patrons for everyday use, Speedsportz President and co-owner Alan Rudolph said.

“Most of the public doesn’t know about [kart racing] yet,” Rudolph said. “This is going to be new for everyone. It’s a really good experience. The great thing about [Grand Texas] is location. … I’ve been racing my whole life, and there’s no other racing facility that’s within 15 minutes of an international airport.”  

In addition, Grand Texas will feature a factory outlet mall, a sportsplex that includes 10 multiuse sports fields, four hotels and 450,000 square feet of retail and dining in the Downtown Texas section upon completion.

Galland said he believes Grand Texas will be the entertainment component that is missing in north Houston.

“Of the top 10 tourist attractions in Houston, nine of them are located south of the I-10 freeway,” he said. “Although the majority of the population lives south of the I-10 freeway, the growth in development and families moving in is to the north. We live in a great area, and the one glaring absence is large-scale entertainment like Grand Texas. We want stuff for our families. That’s kind of how we got on this journey.”