Here is the original plans from an older article. As you can see the Budget and the Acres have been increase along with "rides". Very exciting! Hopefully it doesn't turn out like Space Center Houston....Overrated and over priced.
********************OLD ARTICLE from 11/03/06*********************
Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Fri 11/03/2006
Section: Business
Page: 1
Edition: 3 STAR
Dinosaur theme park proposed / But there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out
By BRAD HEM
Staff
East Montgomery County could become home to a dinosaur theme park complete with dinosaur skeletons, animals and mock fossil digs, park developers announced Thursday.
The Pennsylvania-based Exhibits Rex plans to open Dinosaur City in 2008, but there are a lot of details to be worked out first.
The company and the East Montgomery County Improvement District hope to complete a deal next week that would require the district to find a 100-acre site next to U.S. 59 and get Legislative approval for a special economic zone and half-penny sales tax increase to repay about $25 million in revenue bonds.
The bonds would finance about half the cost to build the park.
Unidentified real estate and entertainment investors would contribute another $25 million, under the terms of the proposed deal.
The district also must agree to pay $200,000 for a study to determine whether the county is a good location for the park.
The park, which also would include an IMAX theater, water park, conference center and hotel, is expected to provide up to 1,000 jobs and could draw more than a million visitors a year, said Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the improvement district.
A destination tourist attraction would also draw restaurants, retail and hotels to the area, providing tax revenue and making the district's investment worthwhile, he said.
"It's going to be a tremendous amenity for our area and for the city of Houston," McCrady said. "It's a win for our entire area."
The park's creator is "Dino" Don Lessem, author of 47 books and an adviser to the movie ``Jurassic Park'' and Walt Disney Co.'s ``Animal Kingdom''.
Dinosaur City would be like a mini-Epcot Center, "not an amusement park but an experience park," said Don Holbrook, the park's site selection director for the developers.
Kids would be able to excavate dinosaur bones from mock dig sites. Various birds, emus, alligators and other animals would be on display. And wooded walking trails will feature dinosaur replicas, Lessem said.
East Montgomery County beat out 68 other locations in 29 states in the selection process, according to Exhibits Rex.
It isn't clear whether the Legislature will go along with the special taxing district for the park. State Sen. Tommy Williams, who represents the East Montgomery County area, was only vaguely familiar with the project, his chief of staff, Janet Stieven said.
"I think it's way too early to tell whether there is support for it," said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.
Whether the politicians buy the idea or not, the park would certainly be popular with kids, said Robert Bakker, curator of paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
"The interest among kids is always super high," he said. "Dinosaurs are always the most popular entrance for young people into natural history."
