Teeter-totter would fly off edge
LAS VEGAS SUNThe Las Vegas Planning Commission has voted 5-0 to approve a new thrill ride for the Stratosphere.
The proposed ride will use a teeter-totter device to flip passengers over the edge of the 1,149-foot building's observation deck -- and then hurl them back to the safety of the deck.
In Business Las Vegas, a sister newspaper to the Las Vegas Sun, reported the ride is tentatively named "Project X Sky" by Stratosphere executives.
The ride was approved quietly this month compared to a heated battle between the hotel, neighbors and the Las Vegas City Council last year over plans to build a 510-foot, $20 million roller coaster off the side of the building.
That battle moved from the Las Vegas City Council to the Nevada Supreme Court, where a ruling is pending.
The new eight-passenger ride was described by Stratosphere spokesman Michael Gilmartin as a major piece of a larger effort to revitalize the tower. He declined, however, to discuss details of the ride or renovations. The property, owned by financier Carl Icahn, will formally announce its plans in mid-May, he said.
"A lot of stuff hasn't been finalized yet," Gilmartin said. "The new ride has been on the front burner. A lot of other projects had been on back burners that will be heating up now."
Gilmartin said Stratosphere executives have been "working on our corporate image."
A report from Planning Commission staff said 2,113 notices of the April 10 hearing and the proposed ride were mailed to neighbors.
JoNell Thomas, an area resident and attorney who represented several neighborhood associations opposing last year's roller coaster proposal, said neighbors were not as vocal about the new plan.
"They didn't have the same opposition to the teeter-totter ride," she said.
Thomas said residents are more concerned about getting the hotel to install sound barriers to minimize noise from a series of outdoor concerts being staged by the Stratosphere.
The staff report said the proposed ride "is designed to allow passengers to move just past the edge of the tower and enjoy the view. It is also designed to be quieter than other rides on the tower."
The Stratosphere tower is already home to the High Roller roller coaster and Big Shot free fall ride.
The proposed ride's eight-passenger car will sit on a 40-foot track with a 7-foot mobile base, the staff report said. The ride will be on the west side of the tower facing south along Las Vegas Boulevard.
Placement of the ride, staff said in the report, will "minimize impacts to the adjacent area."
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Sebastian Horacek alias Coasters