BEAUMONT, Texas — Representatives from the Battleship Texas Foundation attended Tuesday’s Beaumont City Council meeting to talk about a potential move that would bring a major tourist attraction into the city.
The more than 100-year-old warship will be dry-docked soon to have work done on it. By 2023, it will be looking for a new homeport, and Beaumont could be the one.
Tony Gregory with the Battleship Texas Foundation said they'd like to move the ship to a location that could attract around 250,000 paid visitors a year.
The City of Beaumont would be responsible for finding dock space and putting in parking for visitors.
Beaumont City councilmember Mike Getz said having the battleship docked on the Neches River in downtown Beaumont could draw many people off I-10 and into town. He believes the Neches River is the perfect place to relocate the historic Battleship Texas after it undergoes repairs.
"If we have a lease and we have some sort of shared cost of ownership there, then maybe we have a time of pre-reduced rent, and we can kind of ramp up and then sign a ten-year lease with a ten-year option," Gregory said.
Now, there are still plenty of logistics to be worked out, like whether dredging will be required in the area of the Neches they hope to bring the battleship to.
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