Observation Wheel - Views
by Kathy Bassett
Title
Observation Wheel - Views
Artist
Kathy Bassett
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This will no longer stand in Pensacola Beach.'"The observation wheel on Pensacola Beach is moving to Atlanta. Today, the Atlanta City Council approved a permit to install the wheel next to the Centennial Olympic Park. The wheel opened on Pensacola Beach last July. It's expected to open in Atlanta in June. As Channel 3's Christina Leavenworth reports, there is mixed reaction to the news. Mollye and Bob, just as we are getting used to this view, we have to get "un-used" to it. It was brought in less than a year ago, but Atlanta city officials say the owners will be packing it up and taking it to Atlanta. This view, 20 stories up, will soon be a thing of the past. The observation wheel will no longer be a part of our landscape on Pensacola Beach. The Bader's traveled here from Arkansas. The reason they came is the beach, but the observation wheel was something relaxing for the parents to do while the kids still had fun. "They can take it all day long, our ploy to come do something different so this was good..." While they'll miss it, they say it won't be a factor in their decision to come back to Pensacola Beach, however, developer, says Pensacola needs more than a beach to compete against nearby beaches. "It's going to give people one more reason to go somewhere else, this is a tremendous loss..." But the owners of the 10 million dollar wheel, Pacific Development Group, hoped for much longer lines. "They said they had not had the ridership they had hoped for..." The wheel made more than 400,000 dollars the first month it was open. But sales dropped drastically after that. The rest of the year, they made on average around 100 thousand a month. Not everyone is sad to see it go. "'
Uploaded
July 29th, 2013
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