Houston's Largest Retail Development Will be Anchored By...High School Football?

Retail is hot in Houston, but not as hot as high school football. At Valley Ranch Town Center in New Caney, you don't have to choose. The massive retail development is being built around the recently completed Texan Drive Stadium, transforming the area into the perfect spot for a Friday night. 

With the opening of the Grand Parkway at the entrance to the new 1,400-acre master planned community Valley Ranch, work began on the enormous Valley Ranch Town Center. The project is being spearheaded by Signorelli and executed by Arch-Con Construction. The 240-acre development will encompass 1.5M SF of retail next to a 10,000-seat amphitheater alongside New Caney's recently completed state-of-the-art high school football stadium. 

The stadium pictured above seats about 8,500 fans and cost the city a reported $20M. The crown jewel of the stadium is Texas’ largest video board in high school football, behind the south end zone. The 1,400 SF freestanding video board will be operated by the D.R.E.A.M. team–a group of specially trained New Caney ISD students.

According to Arch-Con's Marc MacConnell, a number of retail heavyweights are moving in to benefit from the popularity of high school football in Texas. The development has already signed on Sam's Club, Kroger, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Chili's and Chick-fil-A. A multi-attraction cinema will also be included, though details of the operator have not been released.  

The 10,000-seat amphitheater (pictured), reminiscent of Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion, will be adjacent to the stadium on over 14 acres of beautifully landscaped space. Signorelli situated the development adjacent to Town Grove, a 135-acre park enhanced by a chain of seven lakes, bringing the beauty of nature into the urban village.   

Such a bold vision may seem like a crazy idea in New Caney. Locals (and Signorelli's Danny Signorelli, pictured) don't think so. Projections show there will be 80,000 residents within a five-mile radius with an average household income of $78k by 2018. In a 15-mile radius, those numbers shoot up to 638,000 residents at an average household income of $84k. Daily traffic counts project 70,000 vehicles passing by on the Grand Parkway with another 73,000 on US 59. With numbers like that, the retail development will likely be a touchdown. Locals hope the New Caney Eagles follow suit.