The Battleship Texas Foundation is seeking proposals for the selection of a new home for the historic battleship.
The Battleship Texas’ current berth at San Jacinto State Historic Site does not financially support the Battleship’s annual maintenance costs.
The foundation says it is seeking to find a new home port for the battleship that ensures a sufficient paid visitor revenue to support the operation and maintenance needs of the ship well into the future.
The foundation says the purpose of the request for proposals is to solicit plans from various candidate organizations. The foundation will then conduct an extensive evaluation and select the candidate location that best fulfills their requirements.
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In 2019, the foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department entered a 99-year memorandum of understanding/lease in which they would operate and maintain the Battleship Texas for TPWD and the State of Texas.
Currently, the foundation and TPWD are preparing the ship for transportation to a shipyard where her hull will be replaced from the waterline down and repainted, along with other necessary repairs and improvements.
The ship is tentatively scheduled to depart her current berth between April-August 2020 and be in the shipyard for a period of approximately twelve-months.
Once the battleship leaves the shipyard, the foundation say it expects the ship to arrive in the new berth around August 2021.
Following a period to prepare the ship for reopening, the plan is to have the Battleship Texas receiving visitors by early 2022.
Organizations interested in submitting a proposal should contact the Battleship Texas Foundation through info@battleship.org.
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