January 30, 2020 – Battleship TEXAS Foundation (BTF) released its request for proposal (RFP) for the selection of the new home port for the National Historic Landmark Battleship TEXAS on January 21, 2020. The BTF, a 501c3 nonprofit, is currently accepting proposals for a new berth and home for the Battleship TEXAS. The Battleship TEXAS’ current berth at San Jacinto State Historic Site does not financially support the Battleship’s annual maintenance costs. The BTF is seeking to find a new home port for the Battleship TEXAS that ensures sufficient paid visitor revenue can be generated to support the operation and maintenance needs of the ship well into the future.
The purpose of the RFP is to solicit proposals from various candidate organizations, after which the BTF will conduct a fair and extensive evaluation and select the candidate location that best fulfills the requirements of the BTF. Parties wishing to submit a RFP must contact the BTF through info@battleshiptexas.org to request the RFP package.
The BTF is a nonprofit foundation that was founded in 1999. Its mission is to preserve and enhance the Battleship TEXAS and develop this historic ship into a premier museum and visitor attraction. In 2019 the BTF and TPWD (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) entered a 99-year memorandum of understanding/lease (MOU) with TPWD whereby the BTF would operate and maintain the Battleship TEXAS for TPWD and the State of Texas.
Currently, the BTF 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, we anticipate the ship arriving in the new berth around August 2021. Following a period to prepare the ship for reopening, the plan is to have it receiving visitors by 1st Quarter 2022.
Once the Battleship TEXAS is reopened to the public the BTF will operate the ship with the highest standards of preservation, maintenance, and will consistently offer new experiences and programs for the ship’s visitors to enjoy.
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