Slingshot to land on Cavill Avenue
ONE of the Gold Coast’s most popular tourist attractions will move into the heart of Surfers Paradise in a plan to revamp the Glitter Strip
The Gold Coast Slingshot will move from Cypress Ave in northern Surfers Paradise to Cavill Ave under a plan before the Gold Coast City Council.
Under the plan, filed on Friday, the reverse-bungee attraction, which has entertained tourists for more than 20 years, would replace a convenience shop on the lower end of Cavill Ave, near the Westpac Bank.
It would be modernised, with riders to get picture-perfect views of Surfers Paradise beach.
Melissa Hircoe has operated the slingshot since 1995 and said the move would give the attraction certainty for the future.
“The Cavill Ave site was for sale so we quietly picked it up with the intention of putting the Slingshot on it,” she said.
“However we will not be taking the Vomitron with us so if anyone wants it they will have to get in quickly.
“We are hoping the council decide in our favour because we will work to make it look pretty and modernise it.”
The attraction’s long-term home was bought up by a cashed-up consortium including casino developer Aquis Group and China Communications Construction Company Limited, which is part of the ASF Consortium, another casino proponent.
No development plans have been lodged for the land, which was bought in early 2016.
Ms Hircoe said the Slingshot had been operating on a month-to-month basis since the sale.
“The block was sold and we are going month-tomonth which is something we were worried about,” he said.
“We wanted to buy somewhere and settle permanently.”
The plans will go before the council later this year when a decision is expected to be made.
The attraction is expected to maintain its existing 10am-10pm operating hours.
If approved by the council, it is expected to open late next year following the Commonwealth Games.
The Slingshot would become the first major attraction of its kind to open in the heart of Surfers Paradise in nearly a decade.
Former attractions include the Gold Coast Skywheel, a giant ferris wheel which once stood on the roof of the Surfers Paradise Transit Centre and Grundy’s Amusement Centre, which operated at the Paradise Centre in the 1980s and 1990s.
Glitter Strip entrepreneur and owner of nearby Orchid Avenue nightclub Hollywood Showgirls Craig Duffy – who recently suggested a Cavill Mall flying fox as a tourist attraction – said slingshot’s central move was a brilliant idea.
“It’s just the type of thing central Surfers needs – it’s a world-class attraction offering world-class views over the Surfers skyline and beach – which is one of the best beaches in the world.”
Tourism bosses have welcomed the news, saying new attractions were essential for the industry’s future.