LONG BEACH : Ex-Manager Negotiating to Operate Queen Mary
Long Beach city officials announced Tuesday they are negotiating exclusively with an investment group headed by Joseph F. Prevratil, who once managed the Queen Mary, to run the tourist attraction beginning Jan. 1.
City Manager James C. Hankla cited Prevratil’s experience in choosing his proposal over two other bids to operate the ship. Prevratil oversaw the operation of the Queen Mary for the Wrather Corp., which ran the ship under a lease until 1988.
The current operator, the Walt Disney Co., decided not to renew its lease after years of losing money. The entertainment company, which recently closed the Queen Mary Hotel to reduce losses, will leave the ship at the end of the year.
Some officials on the city’s Harbor Department wanted to sell the ship for $20 million to a Hong Kong firm. But the City Council stepped in and began trying to find an operator to keep the landmark in Long Beach.
The City Council is expected to take possession of the ship and approve an operating agreement later this month to reopen the hotel and keep the Queen Mary running for at least three more years, until officials decide whether the ship fits into development plans.
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