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BY ASIA ARMOUR
The big picture
Where’s the fun? Opened 2020 1 Urban Air Trampoline Park 2 Andretti Indoor Karting & Games Opened 2021 3 Awesome Entertainment Opened 2022 4 The Perfect Round 5 Dig World 6 AGR Sports Adventure Park 7 PopStroke
GRAND CIRCLE BLVD.
99 TOLL
2
7
8
90
In the last ve years, more than 10 diverse entertainment options have opened in Katy, according to previous Community Impact business reporting. Slick City, an indoor slide park for ages 3 and older, will join venues near Katy Mills mall this winter, representatives with the mall said. Its neighbors include Dig World, the construction- themed amusement park that opened in March 2022; Urban Air Trampoline Park that opened March 2020; and Typhoon Texas, which opened a $4 million kids-only minipark in late 2022. Along I-10 and Grand Parkway, sports-centered venues Home Run Dugout and PopStroke cater to both kids and adults. Opened March 2023 and December 2022, respectively, they feature several bars and full-service restaurants in addition to batting bays and a small-scale golf course. Ferraro noted each location is near a major thoroughfare that provides access to and from heavily populated areas around Greater Houston. “It’s pulling people from Tomball, Montgomery County, Fort Bend County, just because of ease of access,” Ferraro said.
GRAND WEST BLVD.
KATY MILLS CIR.
10
5 12
MORTONRD.
KATY FORT BEND RD.
KINGSLAND BLVD.
10
99 TOLL
FRANZ RD.
90
9
10
6
11
10
K I N G S L
Katy
1
HIGHLAND KNOLLS DR.
1463
Opened 2023 8 Home Run Dugout 9 Typhoon Junior 10 X-Golf 11 Activate Games
CINCO RANCH BLVD.
GEORGE BUSH PARK
1463
3
CROSS CREEK BEND LN.
Coming soon 12 Slick City Electric Pickle*
99 TOLL
359
1098
4
1098
N
SOURCES: KATY AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, KATY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COMMUNITY IMPACT *THE LOCATION HASN’T BEEN RELEASED, BUT OFFICIALS SAID IT WILL BE LOCATED NEAR THE GRAND PARKWAY AND I 10 INTERSECTION.
How we got here
What they’re saying
Looking ahead
A concentration of entertainment businesses are located at the intersection of I-10 and the Grand Parkway, Katy Mills mall, and Hwy. 90 and First Street, near Katy’s downtown square. “You can drive down I-10, Grand Parkway, Franz Road, any of the roadways in the Katy area one week, and the next week something new has popped in,” Thomason said. “It’s just great for the economic growth of our community.” Increased tourism Katy’s hotel occupancy tax revenue projections have grown rapidly to account for increased tourism since the drop caused by COVID-19 in scal year 2019-20.
“The city of Katy and Katy ISD … work collaboratively with developers and the county to bring the best possible entertainment business opportunities to this marketplace.” MATTHEW FERRARO, PRESIDENT OF THE KATY AREA CHAMBER OF OF COMMERCE
These entertainment venues cater to Katy’s growing population, o cials said.
COURTESY ANDRETTI INDOOR KARTING & GAMES
Continuing the trend of new entertainment venues is the incoming Electric Pickle, a complex to be located near the intersection of I-10 and the Grand Parkway that will feature 10 pickleball courts and full-service private cabanas with TVs, replaces and a 10,000-square-foot restaurant, Thomason said. “Any of these new businesses coming, whether it’s entertainment or [otherwise], will bring job opportunities, economic growth and improvement of quality of life for our community,” she said.
“You can stay in Katy and have everything that we would have years ago had to drive into Houston for.
Hotel occupancy tax revenue
$2.5M $2M $1.5M $1M $500K $0
It’s all right here in Katy, but we still feel like that small community.” ANGIE THOMASON, CEO OF KATY AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
2019-20 2020-21
2021-22 2022-23*2023-24**
**FY 2023 24 REPRESENTS CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES OF PROJECTED HOT REVENUE. *THIS YEAR’S REVENUE INCLUDES DRAWING IN $1.2M FROM THE HOT FUND BALANCE.
SOURCE: CITY OF KATY COMMUNITY IMPACT
21
KATY NORTH EDITION
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