Site
Sponsor

The Woodlands Waterway cruisers cruising on out; new Waterway entertainment up for discussion

By: Emilie Grecula, Woodlands Online
| Published 08/16/2018

Linkedin

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau board met Aug. 15. Here is what you need to know about The Woodlands Waterway.

After Hurricane Harvey in 2018, the Waterway Cruisers reached their last life. Ever since, the board has been working on a plan to replace that form of entertainment. Boat service first began on the Waterway in 2005 and the board is looking to keep this tradition alive.

There are two suggestions for The Woodlands Waterway Cruisers. The first is to dispose of the boats and the second is to introduce a new concept for the Waterway.

"We don't have anything on a new boat concept," said President of Visit The Woodlands Nick Wolda. "Their time has been focused on disposing of the boats because they were damaged in the hurricane and the cost of refurbishing them (nearly half a million dollars) is too high."

The process of getting a new concept for the Waterway is difficult as the cruisers were gifted to the nonprofit CVB in 2011 for free by the Howard Hughes Corporation. It may be unlikely that they receive another generous gift to restart Waterway entertainment, and they are trying to keep future entertainment at a low cost for the community.

Two proposals were received to buy the damaged cruisers and the CVB board went with MSGII Maritime LLC of West Palm Beach, FL to buy the dis-positioned Cruisers.

The old cruisers will soon be out of the Waterway for good.

"It is not only a matter of getting a company to drive the boats”, said The Woodlands Township Board Director Bruce Rieser. “This is no easy task."

An events corporation previously manned the boats but this was terminated when the boats were deemed no longer usable.

The Waterway was created with federal dollars to take traffic off city streets, so dealing with and ensuring new water entertainment will match the legalities of the original federal grants that were put in place will take time.

There are currently no major investors interested in funding new Waterway entertainment. The swan boats have been put on the Waterway as a new form of paddle boating in the meantime, at a cost of $4,700 dollars each and no additional staff needed.

The board is continuing the search for creative and innovative ideas to take the place of the Cruisers.

Comments •
X
Log In to Comment