BRANSON -- A 15-story Ferris wheel that until recently called Chicago home now is towering over Branson's main drag, just in time for tourism season.
The slowly rotating red and white behemoth, dubbed The Branson Ferris Wheel, opened for business with fanfare and a show of civic pride Thursday. The Ferris wheel sits on the west end of Missouri 76 in the Track Family Fun Parks location No. 4.
Attractions at the Track Family Fun Parks sites include high-rise and classic go-karts, laser tag, miniature golf, children's rides, batting cages and arcades. The opening of the new Ferris wheel is part of the 35th anniversary of the company.
Craig Wescott, president and chief executive officer of the Track Family Fun Parks, said he fell in love with the idea of bringing the wheel to Branson the moment he heard it. He said the opportunity to buy the wheel intersected with renewed growth in the tourist city and an ongoing upgrade to the city's main drag.
The winding and often congested Missouri 76 is the home of Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, the Hollywood Wax Museum, the Titanic Museum Attraction, and hundreds of other closely packed shops, restaurants, theaters and attractions.
The revitalization concept, called The New Spirit of 76, aims to rework about 5 miles of the roadway, starting just east of U.S. 65. The timetable is fluid. The city is in year three of a plan that could take an additional six to eight years to complete at a cost of $80 million to $100 million.
The redesign includes plans for promenades, lighting, landscaping, gathering points, removal of utility poles and lines, and dealing with traffic congestion. The project's goal is to create a corridor that will help retail and entertainment venues along the roadway, promote more private investment and efficiently move travelers to their destinations.
Wescott said when he told his 12-year-old daughter Claire about his plan to bring the Ferris wheel to Branson, she said it would "put Branson on the map." Wescott said he assured her the city was already on the map.
"But this wheel will make Branson's dot on the map a little bigger," he told the crowd.
Kirk Elmquist, tournament director of Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge, said Branson is seeing growth and adding attractions like The Branson Ferris Wheel will put "heads in beds" and provides a new look for the tourism-driven city.
In 2015 the city's tourism taxes on various businesses -- including hotels and motels, amusements, theaters, restaurants and concessions -- totaled $12.1 million, up 3.1 percent from 2014. So far, the total tax for 2016 through May stands at $3.2 million, up 12.8 percent when compared to the same period in 2015.
"This is not your grandmother's or grandfather's Branson," Elmquist said.
The Branson Ferris Wheel, which holds 240 passengers in 40 gondolas, represents a total investment of more than $4 million, including the cost of the wheel itself, moving it to Branson, site work, reassembly, and a total upgrade to its lighting system.
The wheel's gondolas each hold up to six passengers. It never stops, rotating slowly and making a full revolution in about eight minutes. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children.
The wheel, a mainstay at Chicago's Navy Pier for 20 years, was replaced in late 2015 by a larger wheel with climate-controlled gondolas. Over its two decades on the pier, the Ferris wheel had an estimated 17 million riders.
As part of its upgrade, the old incandescent lighting system on the Ferris wheel was swapped for a new LED system that will keep maintenance costs down, use less power and modernize the wheel's look.
Designed by local entertainer Michael Haygood and his business partner Eric Lorscheider, the new lighting system uses 280 light bars from the original ride but now is decked out with 16,000 fixtures made up of 144,000 multicolored lights.
The system allows the lights to be electronically customized so the wheel can sport a vintage look or be part of a light show that's synced to music.
Larger Ferris wheels, sometimes called observation wheels, are popping up around the U.S.
Las Vegas saw the addition of The High Roller in 2014. It sits on the Strip and rises 550 feet above Sin City. It has 28 climate-controlled pods that hold 40 passengers each. It's similar to the smaller London's Royal Eye on the Thames River which opened in 2000.
The Orlando Eye, which stands at 400-feet tall, opened in April 2015. It has 30 capsules that each hold up to 15 people. The New York Wheel on New York Harbor is expected to be completed in 2017. It's 630 feet tall with 36 pods that will each hold up to 40 passengers.
Jeff Seifried , president and CEO of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, said the city was experiencing a Renaissance of sorts with $300 million in new investment so far in 2016 and Branson's new Ferris wheel was a strong statement about the city's continued vitality.
"This is a symbol," Seifried said of the wheel.
Wescott took his first ride on the Ferris wheel recently. He explained that during the planning process they had flown a drone up to 150 feet at the wheel's location to get a feel for what the view was like, but in the end the drone's eye view didn't do it justice.
"It was 100 times better than I thought," he said with a huge smile.
SundayMonday Business on 06/24/2016