posted on August 05, 2011 23:23
Could the vacant $108.4 million Bayport Cruise Terminal become Houston’s next Astrodome?
That’s the question I posed to Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, as a follow up to my July 8 Houston Business Journal print edition story about cruise operators ignoring the Port of Houston Authority
’s recent RFP seeking cruise ships.
Emmett told me the empty facility reminds him more of San Antonio’s unsuccessful attempt to secure an NFL team by constructing the Alamodome.
The county judge said the terminal could become another empty edifice like the Astrodome in the long run, but if it does, it would be the Port’s problem, not the county’s.
He said many people confuse the Port Authority with Harris County because the county handles the Port’s tax collections. He said the only connection between the two is through Port Commission appointments. Harris County Commissioners Court appoints two people to the Port Commission and appoints the Port Chairman jointly with the city of Houston.
Emmett said the Port’s RFP ended up like he expected it would.
“Clearly, I wish it had gotten some responses,” said Emmett, who was not in county government when the terminal was proposed. “I didn’t really expect them to immediately get a response, but it was good for the Port to remind the cruise industry that it is there.”
The judge had higher hopes for the terminal in 2008, when he told the Houston Chronicle that he was not worried about landing a cruise line.
“I have confidence in the folks at the Port,” Emmett said at the time. “They will get a cruise line. I know everybody is a little frustrated at the delay.”
Now Emmett is no longer confident that a cruise ship will use the facility, but he is still holding out some hope.
“They need to keep pushing to get a cruise line in,” Emmett said. “It’s built for a pretty specific use. I can’t think of another use right now.”
7/8/11, Jennifer Dawson, Houston Business Journal