Malibu Grand Prix
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Malibu Grand Prix is an entertainment complex (one still existing on the north side of Tampa, Florida) that had become hugely popular during the 1970s and 1980s as a franchised miniature indy car racing track. The typical complex included a 3000-4000 sq ft. arcade with a concession stand and a race track outside, covering around 10,000 to 20,000 sq ft. altogether.
One of a few of the remaining facilities, the one in Tampa, Florida includes two 18-hole miniature golf courses that are 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.
As with Putt-Putt Golf and Games, many of these entertainment franchises are relics left over from the arcade craze of the 1980s, as the outdoor movie theatres of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Malibu Grand Prix location in Tampa, Florida became independent from the other locations and the name was changed to Tampa Grand Prix.
Palace Entertainment owns the other three Malibu Grand Prix locations. These locations are located in Redwood City, California, Norcross, Georgia, and San Antonio, Texas.
Houston, Texas once had two Malibu Grand Prix locations - off the Southwest 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 the early-2000s). The Southwest Freeway location was shuttered in the late-1980s (the original building remains; the race track was demolished) in response to the infamous Malibu Grand Prix murders where three former employees were convicted (two received the death penalty, and one sentenced to life imprisonment). Southern New Jersey had a Malibu Grand Prix located in Mount Laurel on Fellowship road. Operations ceased[citation needed] 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. As of January 2007, the case remains open.
