Jan 17th 2020 | Posted in News by Texas Government Insider

Ahead of an anticipated request for proposals (RFP), committees in Baytown and Galveston are marshaling their resources to be the next berth for the USS Texas battleship after restoration work is complete in La Porte.

USS Texas

Officers with the Battleship Texas Foundation are working to finalize the RFP for the new berth location. They anticipate issuing it soon and making an announcement on their final selection in the first quarter of 2020.

The city of Baytown will place a councilmember on the Battleship Texas committee and devote resources to the application effort. Galveston committee members envision Seawolf Park as the ideal home for the battleship.
Over the last 12 years, the state has appropriated $85 million in attempts to preserve the ship that was docked at the San Jacinto State Battleground Park, but that level of support ended with a $35 appropriation in the last legislative session. Lawmakers earmarked the funding with the knowledge that scrapping the battleship would cost $30 million. The cost to dry-dock it would be $100 million.
The state handed over operations of the historical site to the foundation on a 99-year lease on the condition that its members took the battleship to a shipyard to replace its rusted-out hull and make other repairs before relocating it to a new home.