One of a few of the remaining facilities, in Tampa, Florida includes two 18-hole miniature golf courses surrounded by ponds and obstacles, a game room, a snack bar, a 1/2 mile (800 m) race track with 3/4 scale Indy-style Formula race cars and a separate go-kart track for younger kids. A new addition to the location is a Paintball field
The Malibu Grand Prix location in Tampa, Florida became independent from the other locations and the name was changed to Grand Prix Tampa.
Houston, Texas once had two Malibu Grand Prix locations. The Southwest Freeway location was shuttered in the late-1980s (the original building remains; the race track was demolished). This location was the site of the infamous Malibu Grand Prix murders. The murders were committed on July 1, 1983, during the course of a robbery and resulted in the violent deaths of four employees who had recently closed the store and were in the process of conducting post closing housekeeping duties. The robbery and murders involved one former employee (who had been recently terminated) and gained entry to the building under the pretext of picking up his last pay check and two acomplices. All were convicted (two received the death penalty, and one was sentenced to life imprisonment). The other was off the Katy Freeway and the northwest corner of the West Loop 610 at Old Katy Road (the Old Katy location was the remaining Malibu Grand Prix location until it was boarded up in early-2005).
There was also a Malibu Grand Prix in Oklahoma City, OK from the 1970s through the mid to early 1990s. The facility was closed and demolished. There is now a storage facility in its place. It was located on I-35 between SW 59th and SW 44th streets.
Columbus, Ohio had a Malibu Grand Prix located on the north side of the city on Schrock Road, visible from Interstate 71. The Columbus location was primarily the Grand Prix track, and had a relatively small arcade in comparison to other locations. Operations ceased late 2001, and the building is now an Islamic school. Some portions of the track can be seen in the school's playground. The Columbus location was also the site of a violent crime -- an unsolved double murder in the early 1980s, as two high school students were abducted from the Malibu Grand Prix and dragged to their deaths behind a vehicle.[citation needed] The case was never solved, and no motive was determined.
Cincinnati (Sharonville), Ohio location
Cincinnati, Ohio Malibu Grand Prix was located on Interstate 75 in Sharonville on Downlin Drive and adjacent to Burbank's Real Bar-B-Q. The location was open until the late 1990s, when it was left vacant and eventually demolished to make way for a Hilton Garden Inn.
Fresno, California was home to one of the first Malibu Grand Prix locations, located near the intersection of Blackstone Ave and Herndon Ave. The facility stood from 1977 until 1997, at which time its 20 year lease on the property was up. The location was briefly renamed "Fresno Grand Prix" after being acquired by an independent investor, though the property owner eventually sold the parcel of land, which included one of the last drive-in movie theaters in California. The building and track were demolished to make way for an expansion of the River Park Shopping Center. The land once occupied by the track is now a Home Depot parking lot. From within Google Maps, you can still see the outline of the track, as well as the 4 screen drive in prior to it being demolished.
There was also a Malibu Grand Prix in Oakland immediately south of the Coliseum from the 1970s through the mid 1990s. The facility was closed and demolished and the site is now an overflow parking lot for the Coliseum.
The Dayton, Ohio location was located right next to the Dayton Mall on State Route 741 close to Centerville. This Location featured a large arcade and the classic Malibu Style Indy Car Track behund the Arcade. Three levels of cars were used including Mini Virage for the kids, Virage full size cars, and Grand Virage Cars which had 2 seats. There was a painting on the outside windows that said "Mortal Kombat II Now Here!" which stayed there until the building was demolished to make way for a Sun Super Savings Center Appliance and Computer Store which soon went out of business as well.
Southern New Jersey location
Southern New Jersey had a Malibu Grand Prix located in Mount Laurel on Fellowship road. Operations ceased and the building remained unused for years. Upon subsequent demolition for an office park the body of an unidentified person was located on the formers grounds.[citation needed] As of January 2007, the case remains open.
A Malibu Grand Prix with a track and arcade, was located north of Denver, CO at Interstate 25 exit 215 (58th Ave). The location is now a Furniture Row store.
There was a Malibu Grand Prix in Lenexa, KS (Suburban Kansas City) that closed in the mid 1990's. The location was at the intersection of I-35 and 87th street. It consisted of a video game room, snackbar, and 1/2 mile traditional race track that featured Virage, Mini Virage, and Grand Virage (2-seater) race cars.
A Malibu Grand Prix with track and arcade was located in Beaverton, Oregon, near the Washington Square Mall. In the early 2000s, the location changed its name, becoming Malibu Raceway LLC which exists today. The facility includes the racetrack, a video arcade and snackbar. A batting cage is also on the property owned and operated by a third party.
Was the biggest of them all. Had 2 miniature golf courses, 9 batting cage stalls, a castle building with over 120 + games, a go-kart track, kiddie kart track, mini train,bumper boats,formula 1 car track. It opened in 1985 and the land was sold in Dec. 2000. The general manager at that time was Manuel Martinez. It was located at 7775 N.W. 7 ST. Miami, Fl 33126. Three large apartment buildings are in its place now.
A Malibu Grand Prix track and arcade was located in the Reseda area of the San Fernando Valley until it was closed down around 1994. Another location existed next to the Puente Hills Mall, in the the City of Industry. Supposedly there was a location in Fountain Valley or Huntington Beach. Indeed a Malibu Grand Prix was located on Warner and Magnolia in the City Of Fountain Valley. A regular hang out for teenagers from FVHS.
The Austin MGP was located on the East side of the 7400 block of IH-35 North, just North of Blackson Ave. and is now a Kia pre-owned car lot. As of this writing (July, 2009) you can still see the MGP as it was during its operations on the Google Maps satellite image, but Google Street View shows the location as its current use.
It was built during the summer of 1978, and opened in October of that year. Located just north of the intersection of Loop 410 and IH-10, the property included the Malibu Grand Prix with arcade and track, and adjacent to it was "The Castle" which was the larger arcade and miniature golf course bumper-boats batting cages. It was billed as "Malibu Golf and Games" and it was quite a hike between the two even through they were on the same property. The sites greatest claim to fame was when the Canadian rock band "Rush" rented the track for recreation after their concert. Each band member purchased 150 tickets and raced far into the night. The track remained open until around 2002. Evidently sold and resold.. the cars were worn out and in disrepair, the lap timer often didn't work, and the quality of the time you spent there went down badly. Then there were slot car tracks where the arcade was and a new track was built on the other side of "The Castle" which was an oval/figure 8 type thing with multi-cart racing instead of hot lapping. That brought some life back to the place, but eventually the Malibu portion (building) was razed and the track remains to this day (July 2009) Located on what must be an extremely valuable tract of land with some of the highest visibility (traffic) in the city, it has done well to make it this far.
There were two in the Dallas area, including, one out near Carrollton
There was one in Memphis, TN near I-40 and Sycamore View Road.
In 2002, Palace Entertainment purchased the three remaining Malibu Grand Prix locations. These locations are located in Redwood City, California, Norcross, Georgia, and San Antonio, Texas. Palace operates additional locations in Los Angeles, California and Dallas, Texas
References in popular culture
Malibu Grand Prix is mentioned in the song "Demolition Rickshaw!" on The Aquabats' 2005 album, Charge!!.
Baylor University The Lariat Online News
Le Mans for the Masses Time Magazine, Sept. 1977
Abandoned Malibu Grand Prix in Houston
Parques Reunidos amusement parks and attractions
Boomers! Parks (El Cajon, Fountain Valley, Fresno, Irvine, Livermore, Modesto, Palm Springs, San Diego, Santa Maria, Upland, Vista, Boca Raton, Dania Beach, Medford) Mountasia (Marietta, Houston) SpeedZone (Industry, Dallas) Malibu Grand Prix (Redwood City, Norcross, San Antonio)
Hillsborough County, Florida points and events of interest
Cracker Country Glazer Children's Museum Florida Museum of Photographic Arts Graphicstudio Henry B. Plant Museum Museum Of Science and Industry SS American Victory Tampa Bay History Center Tampa Firefighters Museum Tampa Museum of Art Ybor City Museum State Park
Zoological parks and aquariums
Busch Gardens Africa Florida Aquarium Lowry Park Zoo University of South Florida Botanical Gardens
Channel District Downtown Tampa & Franklin Street Historic Hyde Park MacDill Air Force Base Plant City Downtown & Historic District Historic Seminole Heights & Hampton Terrace Soho Tampa Bay Tampa Heights West Tampa Ybor City
Other points of interest
Babe Zaharias Golf Course Bayshore Boulevard The Straz Center Ford Amphitheatre Egmont Key Hillsborough River & State Park Lettuce Lake Park Malibu Grand Prix Port of Tampa Raymond James Stadium Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Skatepark of Tampa St. Pete Times Forum Sulphur Springs Water Tower Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Convention Center Tampa International Airport Tampa Theatre Tampa Union Station University of South Florida University of Tampa
Florida State Fair Florida Strawberry Festival Gasparilla Pirate Festival Guavaween Imagine International Film Festival Outback Bowl Sant'Yago Knight Parade Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival Tampa International Film Festival Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
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