The 610-acre Grand Texas Sports and Entertainment District—the new large-scale mixed-use complex located in New Caney—is one step closer to opening its first phase of development.
The estimated 26-acre Speedsportz Racing Park is slated for a soft opening in April with a full opening to the public by May, President and co-owner Alan Rudolph said. After beginning work last April, construction on the racing park has been delayed four months due to inclement weather and utility hookup delays, he said.
“We had to wait for our neighbors, Grand Texas, to get all the infrastructure funded and put in the water and sewer lines,” Rudolph said. “The new street to connect [Hwy.] 242 to [Hwy.] 59 isn’t in yet, but it is graded, and trees are cleared. Now that all of that is done, we should have equipment ready [for construction] by the second week of January.”
Rudolph, who is a professional kart driver, said the multimillion-dollar Speedsportz venue will feature a European-style rental kart facility and track and a separate high-speed performance track. The facility is designed to offer racing for drivers age 10 and up with regular karts that can travel up to 50 mph and high-powered karts that can reach speeds of up to 90 mph, he said.
Speedsportz will also feature the Alan Rudolph Racing Academy, which will offer instructional kart-driving courses for children and adults.
“A customer can pay $25 and do a race much like you would do at an indoor track but outdoors,” Rudolph said. “For the racing academy, customers can take a two- to three-hour ride where they can experience the thrill of driving a real racing kart.”
For experienced and professional racers, club memberships are available along with a 36-car garage to store karts on-site and a repair shop with fuel, tires and other spare parts.
“Around the country, [Speedsportz has] got a lot of buzz,” Rudolph said. “It’s going to be a world-class facility that will eventually host national world class-level races.”
Other park amenities
Grand Texas will feature a 150-acre theme park, the 40-acre Big Rivers Waterpark, the 83-acre Sportsplex, an RV park with 144 lots, four hotels, 450,000 square feet of retail and dining in a “Downtown Texas” area and a factory outlet mall when complete by mid-2019, CEO Monty Galland said in May.
In late July, work on the main water plant for the site was complete. By December, the RV park received electrical, water and sewer utilities and is now set to open this spring, Rudolph said.
Grand Texas Communications Manager Jessica Marquez declined Dec. 7 to offer an update on the waterpark and other aspects of Grand Texas. However, Marquez said more information will likely be available in February.
