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New Park in Houston Area (Grand Texas Theme Park)


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No new updates ? On rides water park renderings and groundbreaking !! Grand Texas is doing a terrible job on fb fans to update there has to be somebody with the group that can finally sag something !!!

They're clearing land. Probably not too much to see or say.

 

Not only that but the permitting process and slow down everything immensely.

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If I remember correctly, the Grand Texas people have said pretty fastidiously that they will be saving as many trees as possible so that the park will remain very wooded.

Awesome! Trees make a good park that much better. With good tree cover, you can still have a good time even at 90 or 100 degrees. The sweltering Houston summers demand that this park have as many trees as possible.

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Not a huge surprise. This is a multi-phase project, and it's typical to see things moved around a bit. I think they are overestimating the impact of the sports complexes, but then again a well managed complex can be a huge asset to the community.

 

Is there anyone in the area who can get pictures of the land? I'm not sure how accessible it is, but it would be interesting to see the clearing going on and a general overview of where this actually is.

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I'm not sure how a 2016 opening date is news. I believe it was stated that the first phase would open in 2015 then the theme park by 2016. Once they start on construction I will drive by to take photos.

Edited by Mrlittle
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hate to say it, but this seems like a scam. This is just my opinion, so take it as that. So far all I see is a cheap sign, where are all the millions of dollars of equipment thats needed to build a 600 acre theme park in 1 year from now? Or they say the waterpark will be open. A 40 acre water park in a year? seriously... the thing is still full of trees.

 

They have not named any professional known roller coaster companies ( to which there are few, 1 in utah and rest in europe) who's building these coasters?? Brae burn construction? ( according to wikipedia) There website says they build schools and hospitals. It also states that in 2013 a architect company based out of dallas "will" be designing the park. So they hired a construction company that would be able to give them a quote without a design? No design to completion in a year and a half 600 acres?? Only very few company's can be hired to build roller coasters into which contracts would have to signed way in advance. ( not to mention cost millions of dollars) They dont mention any investors and just say "private"...This whole 600 acres in the end would cost literally hundreds of millions. What bank or who would loan that out when Astroworld went bankrupt. Even six flags could not make it work.

 

Magic mountain for example is 262 acres built in 1971 and has taken 40 years to fill even a part of the park. Now im not saying this them park is expected to have record breaking coasters, by the drawings it seems more mellow and states 150 acres will be used for the theme park, which is still a huge area. I get constructions crews can get alot done in a year,more than I realize, but when you add up the whole picture it doesn't make since. And yes, it is a "projected" completion time of spring 2015, but still less than a year away and just a sign and few bulldozers? By the pictures it looks smack in the middle of a neighborhood, there just going to live year around with theme park in there backyard hearing screaming all day long?

 

I would love nothing more for this to be real, it would be great for the whole city. Anyone remember the The biggest boat ever being built, the "freedom ship" on the discovery channel? travels non stop around the world and stops at different countries where people can get off and explore. Basically a permanent cruise where you buy the places. The ship as big as some cities... all they showed where renderings. Turned out to be a huge scam where they took peoples deposits and investors money and ran off. They had all these professionals talking about how it was going to be built and the whole 9 yards. This could be a scam where the people get a whole bunch of investors money and it just lags on for years with slow progress, then one day oops, we can't get the right permits, flood zone, neighbor hood complaints, lawsuits, then the people disappear.

 

Land type scams are truly the oldest ones in the book, except instead of I got some land to sell you, its I got a theme park to sell you. Hopefully it is real, and if and when it does open I will certainly be there opening week.

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They have not named any professional known roller coaster companies ( to which there are few, 1 in utah and rest in europe)

 

Lol, I was wondering why anyone following this project would be so suddenly so outlandish as to call it a scam, and then I got to this part and realized that you're a GP who just wondered in. Welcome to TPR, but seriously, lurk awhile. This project is moving along as can reasonably be expected. If you had read through some of the recent discussion, you would see where we talked about how they are developing the sports complex first and have a lot of groundwork and other developments to focus on right now. The theme park is set to open in 2016, but if you have any experience watching developments like this you know that things will get done when they get done and as long as there's notable progression there's no need to worry. Your scam accusation is unwarranted, to say the least.

 

At this point in time they will have most, if not all of their vendors confirmed and will announce that kind of thing to the public when they are good and ready to, which probably won't be until next year.

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^^Though I agree with everything you're saying, I don't think he meant roller coaster design companies. I believe he's specifically speaking of the companies being hired to build them, of which there are not a ton out there. And one of them is in Utah. I'm drawing a blank on their name but they do a lot of complicated steel fabricating on buildings as well.

 

This SEEMS like it's well on its way to becoming the real deal but we'll have to sit back and watch it happen. The Houston market is HUGE and can definitely support a park of this scale so hopefully it happens as planned.

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Seems like it is moving along just fine to me. 2016 is not unreasonable to have the theme park open. They seem like they are taking things slow with this one by starting with the sports complex, then water park and finally the theme park. Perhaps they see what happened to Hard Rock Park and they do not want the same thing to happen. Also this is not a Six Flags park so they could have it all up and running in no time.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Grand Texas—the future 610-acre sports and entertainment district in New Caney—is scheduled to break ground on the first phases of construction late this summer and open to the public in early to mid-2015.

 

The development will feature a 150-acre theme park, 40-acre water park, 83-acre sports complex, RV park with 144 lots, more than 240 hotel rooms and 450,000 square feet of retail and dining once completed, said Monty Galland, CEO of the Grand Texas Sports and Entertainment District. Grand Texas, which is estimated to draw 1.2 million annual visitors, will be near the intersection of Hwy. 242 and Hwy. 59, about 35 miles east of Magnolia.

 

“We want what we refer to as ‘the district’ [to be] a destination and as a destination, that means it’s going to drive development,” Galland said. “We have a lot to offer that you just won’t find any place else.”

 

Galland said Grand Texas will differ from other theme parks in the state since it will feature Texas history and culture elements throughout the property. The theme park will include roller coasters and other carnival attractions and is expected to span 71 acres in the first phase slated to open May 2016, Galland said. The theme park has room to expand attractions on up to 150 acres in the future.

 

The Big Rivers Water Park is scheduled to begin its first phase of construction on 28 acres in September 2014 and open in June 2015. Galland said the water park has space to accommodate up to 40 acres of development, with the first section spanning an area slightly smaller than SplashTown in Spring.

 

The sports complex will include indoor facilities and 20 sports fields with high-tech turf able to withstand up to eight inches of rain per hour without game delays, Galland said. The fields are designed to accommodate a variety of sports teams, including junior and senior baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, 7-on-7 football and rugby.

 

Galland said construction on the sports complex is expected to begin in August 2014 and open in March 2015. Grand Texas officials are projecting 750,000 annual visitors for the junior baseball games alone, he said.

 

“We are hoping to surpass Craig Ranch in McKinney [for total sports complex attendance], and they do 2 million visitors a year for all sports,” Galland said. “The great thing about it is it creates hotel stays and hospitality as well as dining. We feel it’s a very valuable addition to the community.”

 

In addition, the RV park is expected to break ground by the end of July and open in February 2015. The first hotels will be completed around the same time frame, he said.

 

Transportation at Grand Texas will be facilitated through a 50-acre parking lot for visitors and a few separate lots for employees and coaches, Galland said. A trolley shuttle system is planned to be installed in the coming years once the park opens, he said.

 

Galland said there will be a higher than typical wage for entry-level positions at the park, and there will be a large number of full-time employees. Grand Texas plans to develop a multi-family housing complex for employees, but officials are still determining where it will be located, Galland said.

 

Grand Texas officials learned lessons about preparing for future growth from the closure of AstroWorld in 2005, Galland said.

 

“With AstroWorld, one of the biggest things is not the closing—it was very successful—but AstroWorld’s growth potential was stunted by being boxed in,” Galland said. “That’s why we developed [Grand Texas] with the ability to continue to grow for 30 years.”

 

Grand Texas officials were recently approached by a private developer looking to build a new attraction on 43 acres of the property near the RV section, altering some design plans for the overall park, Galland said. Further details for the new proposed attraction are in the works and will be announced soon, he said.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all! I've been a frequent visitor of this site the past year or so and get all my theme park related news from here. Since it seems like you guys have such an active community here, I was just wondering if anybody has any pictures of the new Grand Texas Park that is currently under development scheduled to open in 2015?

 

I've seen park layouts and digitally created photos but if you have actual construction photos that would be great!

 

Thanks!

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