Houston Chronicle by John Tedesco May 27, 2019
The aging Battleship Texas will have a new caretaker and be temporarily moved to Alabama for much-needed repairs under a bill that could be headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
But the bill doesn’t address a crucial question: After repairs are completed, will the battleship be returned to the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site near La Porte, its home for more than 70 years?
The way state Rep. John Cyrier see it, a yet-to-be determined site at Galveston would draw more tourists to the battleship, and those ticket sales would boost revenue and pay for the ship’s future maintenance costs.
“I think everybody that looks at this, if they look at the numbers and look at the reasoning on bringing it to Galveston, I think they’ll realize that’s the best option to save this battleship,†said Cyrier, R-Lockhart, who is one of the House sponsors of Senate Bill 1511 written by state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville.
The possible relocation of a major Texas landmark was opposed by state representatives Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, and Mary Ann Perez, D-Houston, who questioned the logic of moving the ship to Galveston. The debate about the bill was first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.
The battleship is located in Perez’s legislative district and near Cain’s district.
“I’ve lived by Galveston all the days of my life,†Perez told Cyrier before the Texas House voted on the bill on May 16. Tourists only flock to Galveston in the summer, she said. What about the rest of the year?
Cain said moving Battleship Texas to Galveston hadn’t been discussed at all during committee hearings on the bill. If people had known that was a possibility, he said, there would have been an outcry.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Battleship-Texas-could-be-relocated-to-Galveston-13898926.php
