A heat of Greyhound racing dogs run during the Wednesday Matinee at Gulf Greyhound Park, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in La Marque. The facility closed in 2020 and new owners planned to develop it as a concert venue.
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One of the world’s largest greyhound racing tracks shuttered six years ago after nearly 30 years in business. Now, part of the former park is being redeveloped into a sprawling 200,000 square-foot Texas shopping center.
The former Gulf Greyhound Park in Galveston County once drew thousands of visitors for greyhound racing and betting. That same property is now attracting a different kind of crowd: shoppers looking to grab a bite, a new pair of sneakers or a last-minute gift.
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With a handful of locations already open, a few larger retailers are making their way to the new Shops at La Marque.
A heat of Greyhound race dogs are led to the starting gate before running during the Wednesday Matinee at Gulf Greyhound Park, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in La Marque.
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A landmark track’s rise—and fall
Gulf Greyhound Park opened in La Marque in 1992, generating more than $200 million in its first full year of business. The venue was largely viewed as one of the largest greyhound racing facilities in the world.
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The park was built on 110 acres for more than $55 million, according to GreyhoundRacing.com. The four-level complex featured 315,000 square-feet of climate-controlled space and a 14,000-person capacity.
The center halted live racing in 2015. At the time, General Manager Sally Briggs told ABC 13, “We just can’t compete and make it profitable anymore.”
However, after a two-year hiatus, Gulf Greyhound Park resumed live simulcast racing with shorter seasons in 2017. The park also underwent a series of upgrades, according to the City of La Marque.
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In 2019, animal rights advocates called for an investigation into the venue for what they alleged was an unusually high number of dog deaths at the track, attributed to saving on high veterinary costs.
In 2020, the park officially closed its doors. Briggs said the park was closing due to a “decline in parimutuel live racing and simulcast wagering over the past few years.”
RELATED: Gulf Greyhound Park, one of the largest dog racing tracks in the state, closes down after 29 years
A practically empty parking lot swallows the few cars present during the Wednesday Matinee at Gulf Greyhound Park, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in La Marque. The parking lot of the site has since been developed into a retail center, with several large retailers joining the site.
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Shops at La Marque: What’s coming?
The abandoned parking lot at the former Gulf Greyhound Park is transforming into a 200,000-square-foot retail center, according to a conceptual brochure on the Main Street Commercial Partners website.
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In February, the City of La Marque announced Academy Sports was coming to FM 1764 near the former Gulf Greyhound Park.
“Construction is slated to begin (in the) second quarter of 2026 and will open in mid-2027,” the city wrote to Facebook. “The Academy is part of a retail project that includes more than 200,000 square feet of new retail development in our city!”
Construction of the shell building is expected to wrap up this October, according to a November 2025 filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. While details submitted to the TDLR are subject to change, the cost for just the 55,000 square-foot shell building was estimated at $2.8 million.
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Several other large retailers have registered build-out projects at the site, including Marshalls, HomeGoods, Ross Dress For Less and Burlington, according to the Houston Business Journal. A 19,200 square-foot PetSmart is included on the Main Street brochure, but a company spokesperson recently told the Houston Business Journal they had no details to share at this time.
In addition to Academy Sports, the large retailers are expected to make up about 168,200 square feet of the shopping center.
McDonald’s, Chipotle, Raising Cane’s, 7 Brew Coffee and Valvoline Instant Oil Change have all opened on pad sites along FM 1764, across from the incoming developments. The Main Street brochure also lists a Quick Quack Car Wash as coming soon.
Main Street Commercial Partners did not immediately respond to Chron’s request for comment.
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Mike Jackson watches the dog races during the Wednesday Matinee at Gulf Greyhound Park, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, in La Marque. The facility closed in 2020 and new owners planned to develop it as a concert venue.
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An uncertain future for a ‘Vegas-style’ concert venue
While retail is moving ahead in the former parking lot, the future of the Gulf Greyhound Park venue remains murky.
After the closure of the park in 2020, developers Jerome and Leslie Karam of JMK5 Holdings bought 88 acres of the property with plans to turn it into a 12,000-seat Las Vegas-style concert venue.
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A 2022 JMK5 news release related to the proposal said the development would “ignite Galveston County by attracting diverse commerce and bringing excitement to the whole community.”
In 2024, Karam said work on the track was 50 percent complete and said the project could have been completed within one year. In July 2025, a JMK5 Holdings blog post said the venue would feature VIP cabanas, luxury suites and “immersive live production capabilities.”
However, plans for the concert venue appear to have since been paused or scrapped. Construction on-site stalled a while back, according to the Houston Business Journal, and Karam no longer owns the property.
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As of May, it remains unclear whether the project will ever come to fruition. Jerome Karam did not immediately respond to Chron’s request for comment.