Houston Gulf Airport was a single-runway airport located in eastern

League City League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129. The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

code was SPX and its

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

code was also SPX.

History

The airport opened in 1967 as the Spaceland Airport, a name related to the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

, located about 4 miles north of the airport. A businessperson named James R. Bath purchased the airport on behalf of

Salem bin Laden Salem bin Mohammed bin 'Awad bin Laden ( ar, سالم بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن) (4 January 1946 – 29 May 1988) was a Saudi Arabian investor and businessman. Life Considered the eldest son of Mohammed bin Laden, he was the founde ...

in 1977. Bath received a 5 percent interest in the companies that own and operate the airport. Salem bin Laden owned the airport for six years before his death in 1988.Ampersand!
" '' The Signal & Urbanite''. October 30, 2001. News Page Three. After Salem bin Laden died, the airport, now owned by his estate, was for sale. The airport was scheduled to close on April 1, 2002. A coalition of the

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...

and some local pilots created a campaign asking for the City of League City to acquire the airport from its owner. The airport's land was sold and the land became a string of houses along

Texas State Highway 96 State Highway 96 (SH 96), also known as League City Parkway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. The highway runs approximately between Interstate 45 and SH 146/future SH 99 in Galveston County, connecting the cities of League City ...

. The group of houses are part of a 2,000-house community called Tuscan Lakes.Bivins, Ralph.
Galveston County will get new community
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Sunday January 18, 2004. Business 6.

References

External links

Aerial photo as of 15 January 1995
from

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the effort is to prov ...

'' {{League City, Texas Defunct airports in Texas Airports established in 1967 Buildings and structures in Galveston County, Texas Transportation in Galveston County, Texas 1967 establishments in Texas