A New AstroWorld?

A new AstroWorld? Mayor Turner vows to bring amusement park to Houston

AstroWorld Texas Cyclone roller coaster in its heyday.

Courtesy photo

In a a recent informal lunch with members of the media as he approached six months in office, Mayor Sylvester Turner ticked off the important things his administration has accomplished — unanimous passage of a balanced budget, pothole repairs — and issues he plans to tackle — the pension mess, the Kush problem in city parks, serious street repair projects, job development.

But what really got the mayor excited is the idea of a major amusement park within the city limits of Houston. "If we want to be that destination city in terms of conferences and tourism, we have to have that component in this city," he said.

"It's one thing to have the rodeo, that's once a year for three weeks. The Super Bowl will be here and gone. The America Cup COPA, came, gone. NCAA (Final Four), come and gone. We need a major amusement center in this city, especially to focus on our families and young population that's every day in this city."

Turner said the park would have to be located in Houston and not in a suburb.

"I'm not talking about in Katy or Tomball or Spring or Pearland," he said. "I'm talking about within the 640 square miles of the city of Houston. That's something we are missing and we are putting out in the atmosphere. Hopefully there will be major investors who are looking within the 640 square miles. You can't be the fourth largest city, soon to be the third, and not have that added component. So we are taking a very hard look at finding that sort of amusement center."

AstroWorld thrilled a generation of amusement park goers with several roller coasters, including the Texas Cyclone, the iconic Astroneedle, and dozens of rides, including Thunder River, the world's first river rapids ride. The park, located south of the Astrodome, opened in 1968 and was acquired by Six Flags in 1975. It closed in 2005.

Since then, the Houston area has not had a comparable park, although plans for The Grand Texas Theme Park in New Caney were announced with much fanfare in 2013. Although the project has suffered numerous setbacks and delays, the first phase, Grand Texas RV Resort, a 140-space luxury RV resort, is planning to open this year, according to the East Montgomery County Observer.

parks

let's all take the bus

Texas sees 5th highest surge in gas prices in the U.S. since 2025

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

undefined

Houston residents who are feeling the sting at the gas pump aren't alone: Residents all around Texas are seeing soaring prices for regular and diesel fuel in 2026.

In fact, the Lone Star State has seen the fifth-highest percentage increase in gas prices in the country from April 2025 to April 2026, a just-released SmartAsset study has found. The current cost of a regular gallon of gas is 36.1 percent higher now than it was a year ago, and diesel is 60.9 percent more expensive.

The report, "Gas Prices Hit Records in 2026: State by State Breakdown," compared average gas prices from AAA from April 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026 and calculated the one-year change across all 50 states. The study looked at the price of a gallon of regular, premium, and diesel.

According to AAA, the cost of a regular gallon of gas in Texas at the start of April was $3.77, while premium is $4.62 per gallon. Diesel ticked over $5 a gallon — ouch — at $5.11.

Houston gas prices aren't much cheaper than the statewide average. A gallon of regular costs up to $3.76 at some Houston-area pumps, and diesel is $5.05 per gallon. AAA says the highest recorded average price for gas in the city was in June 2022, when a gallon of regular cost $4.68 and diesel cost $5.24.

Though Texas' gas prices are continuing to climb, it ranks 35th in the national ranking of states with the highest cost for regular gas as of April 2026. Texas' diesel prices are the 14th highest nationwide.

With the national average price for gas at $4.06, SmartAsset said the sudden surge in prices can be attributed to the United States' war on Iran, and "subsequent pressure on the Strait of Hormuz."

"Many states have experienced a 33 percent year-over-year increase in the cost of a gallon of regular gas – and in some places it’s even higher," the report's author wrote. "Commercial and public programs may be feeling similarly pinched, with diesel prices upwards of $6.00 per gallon in many states."

California currently has the highest average price for regular and diesel — $5.89 per gallon and $7.52 per gallon, respectively.

Arizona leads the nation with the highest one-year increase in gas prices. Regular gas in the Grand Canyon State is nearly 38 percent more expensive than it was last year, at $4.70 per gallon, and diesel is about 69 percent higher at $6.04 for a gallon.

The state with the cheapest gas prices in April is Oklahoma, where regular costs $3.27 per gallon, premium is $3.97, and diesel is $4.49.

gas prices texas smartasset