Nov. 14–Developers on Wednesday unveiled elaborate new details for a proposed theme park and entertainment complex on 630 acres of piney woods in eastern Montgomery County.

The project, which they envision as a long-awaited replacement for AstroWorld, would include not just water slides and roller-coasters but also hotels, retail, baseball fields and other venues clustered together as the Grand Texas Sports and Entertainment District.

Construction is set to begin early next year and the park could be open by the end of 2015.

Monty Galland, who has been working on the park project for five years, and other leaders released a series of colorful renderings during a promotional event at the Greenway Plaza’s DoubleTree Hotel. Galland and his investors closed on land for the Wild West and Texas-themed park at Texas 242 and U.S. 59, 30 miles northeast of Houston, this summer.

“We feel it would be a great destination for not just north Houston, but also the greater Houston area and the entire region,” Galland said.

Wednesday’s event showcased the evolving plans for Grand Texas. The site near New Caney — population 8,000, in unincorporated and largely rural eastern Montgomery County — includes a 30-foot-deep creek, rolling hills, hardwood pine trees and wildlife.

The Grand Texas idea was one of several proposals to bring an amusement park to the Houston area over the last eight years following the closure in 2005 of AstroWorld. That park opened in 1968 on 104 acres off Loop 610 South.

No replacement of comparable scale has emerged. Analysts have said no standalone amusement park has been built from the ground up in the U.S. in about 25 years and that it would cost hundreds of million of dollars to build one now.

Chuck Hendrix, founder and CEO of Innovative Leisure Partners, the group that is to manage the park, said its research and feasibility studies show a broader entertainment and retail experience would be attractive locally.

“We believe we will have Saturday afternoons up here that will be unbelievable,” said Hendrix, a former Six Flags executive who was running AstroWorld when it closed. “There are so many opportunities on this single site.”

150-acre park

Developers said the 150-acre Grand Texas Theme Park itself will be divided into several areas, each focused on a different period in Texas history.

Planned attractions include several roller-coasters, a full-size steam train, a stagecoach, water rides, an equestrian trail, petting zoos, a zip line and a ropes course and a couple of dozen amusement rides.

Developers hope the theme park will open by December 2015. An adjacent Big Rivers Water Park would cover 40 acres and be fashioned after a mid-1800s fishing village. The developers say the water park will open by April 2015.

Several other investors plan to operate adjacent attractions.

A proposed Ballpark of Montgomery County announced Wednesday would accommodate between 6,000 and 9,000 for an independent baseball league and concerts. Another group plans to build “Downtown Texas” on 450,000 square feet of land meant for shopping, restaurants and entertainment.

Other proposals include a Montgomery County Event Center that could host sporting events, including a professional hockey team, in a 200,000-square-foot space; a 90-acre complex of baseball and softball fields to accommodate up to 200 teams at a time for tournaments; and a “Hospitality Village,” with two hotels, restaurants and the Shady Oaks RV Resort.

No public money

Developers declined to give the purchase price of the land. In previous interviews, Galland estimated the total cost of the project would be roughly $200 million for the theme park. His group predicts first-year attendance of around 665,000, rising to about 1.8 million after several years.

The first phase of construction, which includes building infrastructure and clearing land, will start early next year, said Jody Pepitone, director of business development for Houston-based Brae Burn Construction, which will do the construction for the park.

The project has not received any public money from the East Montgomery County Improvement District, developers said. But Galland said the group stands to gain performance-based incentives, including a portion of the county’s gate and parking fees.

Also in east Montgomery County, plans for a nature-themed park to be called EarthQuest have been in the works for several years. That project already has received millions in sales tax revenue bonds and the county is still working with developers to find investors for the land.

Galland moved to The Woodlands from California with his family nearly a decade ago and had approached officials in Tomball and The Woodlands before settling on the New Caney site.

Hendrix, who has built and managed theme parks all over the world, said Houston is one of the top markets in the world to start such a project.

“We can’t believe this hasn’t happened already,” he said. “This project has success written all over it.”