Nottingham Castle could fully reopen to the public in June if plans are approved at a council meeting next week.
The visitor attraction and galleries closed in November when the Nottingham Castle Trust went into liquidation.
An executive board at Nottingham City Council will consider a report recommending the authority should take on the castle's running costs of up to £2.1m over three years.
If approved, Nottingham Castle would be run as part of the council's museums and galleries service.
The city centre venue opened in June 2021 following a three-year, £30m renovation project partially funded with an £8m loan from the city council.
Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis said: "We committed to looking at ways to reopen the castle as soon as possible after Nottingham Castle Trust went into liquidation.
"This report recommends a way to do that by using the expertise of the council's well-established museums and galleries service, which has previously run the site and has the skills, specialist knowledge and cultural partnership connections."
The report, which also includes other options such as keeping the whole site closed and only reopening the gardens, will be considered at a meeting on Tuesday 21 March.