TEXAS — Members of the Southeast Lions little league football team know how to take hits on the field. One hit they didn’t see coming was the closure of Grimes Park in the Sunnyside neighborhood south of downtown Houston, where the team has practiced for nearly 30 years.

“I hate it,” said Austin Zamora, 10, a Southeast Lions football player. “My personal opinion about it, I think it was the best park in Houston.”

Houston Independent School District notified the City of Houston in January that it was ending a lease agreement with the city and closing the park. The plan now is to build Southside Launchpad, a $210 million Career and Technical Education (CTE) facility, on the old Grimes property that coaches say has produced generations of players, including NFL star De’Von Auchane.

“When they said 9220 Jutland, we were thinking about the old B.H. Grimes Elementary,” said Travis McGee, president of the Sunnyside Garden/Bayou Estates Civic Association, who said they had no idea Houston ISD planned to close the park.

“We have another 40 kids that aren’t here right now because of the change,” said Coach Eugune “Boo” Dixon. “We pick them up. We drop them off. We feed them.”

Tommy Rodriguez, a coach and parent, said his team was forced to relocate its practices to Garden Villas Park, about four miles west of Grimes Park.

“We got out there and all the lights were down. They just started taking them down,” Rodriguez said.

Southeast Lions coaches said they were not informed about the closure and that parents were unaware as well.

“One of the things that the Southeast Lions do in the community is give back and give the players the opportunity to play and grow as a man and as an individual, and for them to take the park away from the community like that, I feel like that was the wrong move,” said Trevion Rodriguez, a coach and former player.

Officials used public-private funds to renovate Grimes Park just three years ago, when the city renewed its lease. McGee told the Houston City Council that taxpayers also invested millions of dollars to maintain the park over the years.

“We had no idea they were going to do this. Why would anybody dump millions and millions of dollars in a city park only for it to just get torn out?” McGee said.

Members of the Sunnyside neighborhood also question why Houston ISD didn’t choose to use one of its recently closed school properties for the new facility.

The district issued the following statement to Spectrum News 1:

“Southside Launchpad is a $210 million investment in Career and Technical Education that will provide HISD students access to specialized, hands-on training in high-demand fields including healthcare, skilled trades, automotive, cybersecurity, engineering, manufacturing, and robotics. The 216,000-square-foot center is planned to open for the 2028-29 school year.

“The Grimes site was identified as the best location for Southside Launchpad based on its size, location, accessibility, and ability to accommodate the project. The full site is needed to accommodate the new facility, along with parking, bus and vehicle circulation, utilities, stormwater detention, security, and other required infrastructure.

“The agreement between HISD and the City of Houston allowed the City to use the District-owned property for public park and recreational purposes. HISD formally notified the City in January 2026 that the property would be needed for District use, and the Board approved the Southside Launchpad project in May.”

Members of city council said they were unaware of the lease terms and would look into possible legal options.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement he was not in office when the city agreed to renew the lease, but he said his administration helped move the Southeast Lions to its current location.

“They should use eminent domain or whatever they can. I think they should swap out some city property for it,” said McGee.

Whitmire also said in his statement that the city will keep working to help those impacted.