Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Mayor, Travis McDonough, announced Tuesday that the city has reached an agreement with Xanterra Cruises, LLC that will allow the Delta Queen to remain moored at its current location in Coolidge Park.
Mr. McDonough said, "We are excited to have a plan for the Delta Queen going forward. We have extended the agreement for another six months at the request of Xanterra Cruises while they continue to work through the sale of the boat. We want to ensure that the agreement with the city is honored going forward and that the Delta Queen is an asset for the city."
Due to the delinquent nature of past payments, this new agreement between Xanterra and the city is conditioned on all payments being made on time each month, he said.
Hans Desai of Xanterra said, "We are excited to have this new agreement with the city that will allow the Delta Queen to remain moored in Chattanooga. As stated yesterday, for the past several months we have been in discussions with potential buyers of the Delta Queen. While we believe we are close to achieving an agreement with a buyer, the transaction is not complete. We appreciate the flexibility of the city in working through this process."
Mr. McDonough also said the city would discuss the necessary elements to make Chattanooga the Delta Queen's permanent home if a new owner desired.