NEWS: Steel Pier to add 200 ft tall Observation Wheel

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/atlantic-city-s-steel-pier-to-add--foot-tall/article_3e3f1d46-c241-11e2-8760-0019bb2963f4.html

 

The Steel Pier's owners have plans to construct a 200-foot-tall observation wheel, building the new ride on on a newly constructed deck to be added onto the beach south of the existing pier.

 

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority on Tuesday approved a $4 million loan for the project. The new deck construction is expected to cost $2.4 million and the wheel will cost another $7 million to $11 million, Steel Pier owner Anthony Catanoso said.

 

Plans call for the addition to be open by early 2014. Catanoso said he wanted to build the addition on the south side of the pier approaching the new Margaritaville complex at Resorts to capitalize on the excitement that project Is bringing to the Boardwalk.

Edited August 5, 2013 by jedimaster1227

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/deal-struck-to-build-steel-pier-s--foot-observation/article_6a014106-e33a-11e2-acda-001a4bcf887a.html

 

When riders climb aboard the Steel Pier’s newest attraction next year, they’ll find themselves 200 feet above the Boardwalk inside a ride constructed in Italy and shipped in pieces to Atlantic City.

 

Anthony Catanoso, the Steel Pier’s president, traveled to Venice this week to close a deal with Italian ride manufacturer Technical Park, which will construct the 42-gondola observation wheel overseas before breaking it down into sections for its trip to the United States.

 

While Technical Park is building the ride abroad, construction on a 31,500-square-foot expansion of the Steel Pier that will support the ride will begin after Labor Day.

 

“This is our biggest project to date, and it’s an important piece for Atlantic City,” Catanoso said in a phone interview from Italy. “We wanted to make sure it was done right and we were choosing the right people.”

 

Catanoso is confident that the right people are at Technical Park, in part because the Atlantic City amusement pier has worked with the Italian group before. The Ferris wheel currently on the Steel Pier was also constructed by Technical Park in a similar fashion about 10 years ago.

 

At that time, however, the stakes were much lower. The current Ferris wheel measures about 66 feet tall — a $315,000 project by 2003 standards. This time around, Catanoso is planning for a wheel 200 feet tall that will be the largest in the country, at least until a 500-foot-tall Las Vegas wheel is constructed.

 

The price tag for what Catanoso says is the pier’s most elaborate ride to date is expected to approach $13 million between the pier expansion and the wheel itself. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has agreed to provide a $4 million loan for the project.

 

With the ride perched atop a new deck to be constructed along the Boardwalk to the south of the existing pier, the observation wheel will rise 220 feet in the air when it opens sometime in the first quarter of 2014.

 

“We wanted the timing on this to get off the ground quickly, and I wanted to look myself at what kind of gondolas we could have and what kind of structure could be built,” Catanoso said.

 

Technical Park, one of a number of European companies known as leaders in the amusement ride industry, will begin shipping sections of the ride some time after the beginning of 2014. Then, crews in Atlantic City will reassemble the ride.

 

Last year, plans for $100 million in renovations to the century-old pier were announced. At that time, Catanoso said the owners planned on a ride that would have a handful of VIP cabins mixed among standard cars. However, the plan has morphed to construct almost all of the cabins in a VIP style.

 

That means that nearly all of the cabins will have cushioned seats, heat, air conditioning, wi-fi access and music while riders take the 15- to 20-minute ride.

 

Catanoso is also hoping the ride will prove lucrative for the pier. Conservative estimates shown to CRDA earlier this year suggest the wheel will draw 500,000 riders a year based on ridership of similar attractions.

 

The wheel is part of a plan to make the amusement pier a year-round attraction.

[Wes]

Does it come pre-installed with Jersey trash?

[805Andrew]

I guess they are hoping that another hurricane like Sandy won't hit the Jersey Shore for years. Is the whole ride complex on the pier new or just the wheel?

[_koppen]

What happened to the Intamin Zacspin?

[jedimaster1227]

^^The the wheel complex is a totally new section of the pier to the side of the existing Steel Pier amusement area. Pictured in the concept art is an extension of the amusement area beyond its current limits to include another coaster, pictured here as something like a Eurofighter.

[Jew]

I guess they are hoping that another hurricane like Sandy won't hit the Jersey Shore for years. Is the whole ride complex on the pier new or just the wheel?

 

I'm guessing it will be built to withstand a hurricane of Sandy's strength.

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.nbc40.net/story/22859556/largest-ferris-wheel

 

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority board has unanimously approved a 220 ft observation wheel to be built next to the Steel Pier in Atlantic City. The wheel will be the largest in the United States until a larger one is built in Las Vegas next year.

 

Officials say after Tuesday's board meeting, the wheels are in motion on the project, and construction on the observation wheel could begin within a few months.

 

Arthur Ponzio, a planner and engineer on the project, told NBC40, "This area of the boardwalk, I think, is going to be spectacular."

 

The wheel will feature 40, climate-controlled gondolas that can hold 6 to 10 people inside for lunch, drinks, or even business meetings - all while taking in views of the incredible coastline of Atlantic City.

 

President of the Steel Pier, Anthony Catanoso, said, "It will be a 30,000 square foot addition to the Steel Pier - a 100 by 315 ft deck, just alongside the pier, that will have the observation wheel and some other attractions on there. So it will have beach access, boardwalk access, open to the public, so it really will be a nice, flowing addition to the pier."

 

Steve Hankin, the attorney for the project, said the wheel will make Atlantic City even more desirable for tourists by saying, "This is the kind of ride that is very family-friendly. You can eat on here, you can drink on here, you can be cool, you can be warm - it depends on what time of the year, but it's a very safe, well-rounded ride." Catanoso added, "We're totally pumped up about this, this is really an exciting project for Atlantic City and I think it's one of the most exciting projects in the last couple of years. I mean, coming on the heels of Margaritaville, which is really great for the Uptown District, this is really that much better."

 

CRDA representatives say they plan to contribute close to 10 million dollars towards the project. Paul Weiss, Chief Legal Officer for the CRDA, told NBC40, "The Steel Pier is an iconic and historic landmark in the city and the expansion of that landmark is integral to the mission of the Tourism District's master plan."

 

Officials with the Steel Pier say they hope to have the massive wheel opened by the first quarter of 2014.

 

Engineers with the project say they will still need state approval, but that within the next 3 to 4 months the project should be cleared and construction can begin.

[gisco]

They have an ambitious schedule. Still need to get state approval which could take 3 to 4 months and still have the ride open first quarter of 2014. I think by next summer is more likely.