New Roller Coaster for New Orleans

[larrygator]

http://www.nola.com/family/index.ssf/2013/08/fema_will_replace_flood-damage.html

 

New Orleans might not have SFNO returning but New Orleans City Park is getting an upgrade of their kiddie coaster that slowly deteriorated after Hurricane Katrina.

 

 

FEMA will replace flood-damaged roller coaster in New Orleans City Park

 

A new Lady Bug Roller Coaster will swoop and rattle under the live oaks of New Orleans City Park next summer. In a prepared statement released on Wednesday (August 14), Park management reported that FEMA, “after a protracted negotiation,” has agreed to pay $1.4 million to replace the beloved amusement park ride.

 

City Park suffered major flooding in 2005 when federal levees failed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Salt water invaded the metal pipes of the Lady Bug’s superstructure at that time – a problem that came to light only after the refurbished roller coaster was returned to service.

 

The Lady Bug has been closed since 2011.

 

It will take about eight months for Zierer, a German manufacturer of amusement rides, to create the custom coaster, said park spokesman John Hopper. The new ride will stand higher, plunge faster and cover an expanded footprint. Each of the coaster’s 10 cars will hold two people. Installation of the new attraction is not expected to interrupt normal operations at the Amusement Park.

 

Although replacement of the Lady Bug will be fully funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, City Park is seeking sponsors for each of the 10 coaster cars. Funds raised through sponsorship will be invested in the park’s endowment to cover maintenance costs for the ride.

 

The sponsorship cost for each car is $25,000. Dot’s Diner has signed up to sponsor the first car.

[SharkTums]

FEMA is funding the bill for the coaster??? I can imagine some very angry tax payers over that one!

[larrygator]

FEMA is funding the bill for the coaster??? I can imagine some very angry tax payers over that one!

 

Why not, there are already millions of tax payers upset by a lot of things.

 

When I first read the article I thought they were paying that much for the same model that got destroyed. At least they are not overpaying.

[Hercules]

You would think Zierer would have given them a discount considering the situation. Freakin' Germans

[larrygator]

You would think Zierer would have given them a discount considering the situation. Freakin' Germans

 

Knowing this country's bureaucrats, they probably didn't try to negotiate a discount. At least Zierer didn't quote $2.8 million because someone would have approved it.

[MorganFan]

Hopefully it's at least an upgrade to tubular track.

[scbt]

Probably a dumb question, but is this going to be a tivoli type coaster like the old one was?

[Jew]

I think it is a safe bet to assume so.

[simon8899]

You would think Zierer would have given them a discount considering the situation. Freakin' Germans

 

We only make business as we can - thats why we are successful even in the crisis.

[gisco]

I find it kind of odd that FEMA is paying for this and not insurance if they had any.

[carolinacaniac]

There may be some kind of special provision for it because of the parking being a city owned park. I do think it is a bit odd that this isn't being paid for by insurance.

[805Andrew]

I thought it is strange that FEMA is paying for a roller coaster, but my guess is because the park is city owned and the proceeds probably go back into the city or the city's parks and rec dept or something like that. I like the fact that the park is trying to get sponsorship of each car of the coaster train.

[carolinacaniac]

I like the fact that the park is trying to get sponsorship of each car of the coaster train.

 

I too like that they are doing that. The one thing that may take away from it though is if they plan to do like Six Flags did with the car wraps. It would almost seem like they were going for a NASCAR theme rather than a Lady Bug (which I believe was the name they were going with since the old one was called that).

[Jackdude101]

Based on the stats for this new roller coaster on its rcdb.com page here: http://rcdb.com/7655.htm, which appear to be rough estimates given that they are whole numbers and multiples of ten (30 feet tall even and 20 mph even), it's possible that this might not be a "custom" model at all. Instead, it may actually turn out to be a Zierer Force - Two standard off-the-shelf model, given that it has very similar stats to the estimated stats above (29.50 feet tall, 728.33 feet long, and 24.23 mph) and is the most common junior-sized model that Zierer has made within the last five years at least. The aspect about this roller coaster to which everyone is referring when they say "custom" is most likely the custom themeing of the train, which is exremely likely given that most of the existing models here: http://rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&mo=8241 have custom-designed trains.

 

Also, the Zierer Force - Two is one of their more recent models and has tubular track.