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'Forrestal' supporters slip near power plantBy STEVE HUETTEL © St. Petersburg Times, published October 16, 2000 Boosters trying to bring the USS Forrestal to Tampa have their sights set on a new home for the retired aircraft carrier near downtown Tampa. But don't break out the confetti just yet. John Kercher, chairman of the non-profit group that wants to turn the carrier into a museum, met last week with Tampa Port Authority and Tampa Electric Co. officials about parking the Forrestal in a slip north of TECO's Hookers Point power plant. Kercher likes the site, just across the water from the Channelside entertainment complex, because it's close enough to draw downtown visitors critical to making the museum float financially. But there are some hurdles to clear. TECO will keep operating the oil-fired plant at least through January 2003, TECO spokeswoman Laura Plumb said. And the 1,086-foot-long carrier would be too big to fit without extending South Slip into TECO property, port officials say. The Navy, meanwhile, wants to decide on a new home for the Forrestal, now docked in Newport, R.I., around year-end, Kercher said. Even if TECO is willing to part with the plant and the Navy can wait that long, there's that nagging question of money. A port official guessed that buying the TECO property and extending the slip could cost upward of $50-million. The USS Forrestal Sea, Air, Space, Museum Inc. projected a budget of $12-million for the project and has raised well under $1-million. "We're still at the conceptual level," Kercher said.
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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