My, What A Big Gym You Have, Texas City!

By Brandon C. Williams

The Post Newspaper Editor

World Gym opened at Mainland City Centre on Saturday morning with a grand opening that included a ribbon cutting with the Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a beautiful day when you see the long road come to fruition,” said Leslie Karam, as she and her husband, Jerome, owners of JMK5 Holdings, took part in the ribbon cutting of what is now the largest World Gym in the entire planet.

With over 100,000 square feet, World Gym has everything. “If you can’t get in shape here, then you can’t get in shape anywhere,” said one World Gym member of the facilities. Hundreds of attendees hurriedly took advantage of the massive complex, which includes a regulation basketball court, an outside weight lifting facility and a variety of outlets to enhance nutrition before and after workouts.

Also included is a Kids’ Center, a state-of-the-art spa along with an indoor track oval to allow walkers to burn off the calories without having to beat the heat. More than a dozen massive TV screens are also available for fitness fanatics to watch anything from financial news, classic movies and a plethora of sporting events from college softball to the NBA Playoffs.

World Gym is the latest extension of Karam’s vision of Mainland City Centre, which is becoming the prototype for future malls with its one-stop location for food and family entertainment. JMK5’s next step in its amazing transformation of what was once Mall of the Mainland will come in late July-early August when a new theater will officially open its doors.

Karam, who purchased the land that once was home to Gulf Greyhound Park earlier this year, said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony that the entertainment center he will develop there will be open in early 2023.