FAIRGOERS CAN GET A LIFT ON NEW SKYRIDE
Midway operator Reithoffer Shows has spent over $1 million to build a permanent ride.
Reithoffer Shows, which operates the midway at the New Mexico State Fair, has paid for and installed a permanent ride along the fairground’s Main Street.
The Skyride, a chair lift-type ride, towers 40 feet over the east side of Main Street for 1,100 feet — running from the entrance to the food court to the north end of the fairgrounds near the Palomino Barn, fair general manager Dan Mourning said Wednesday, as final preparations were being made for today’s opening.
Boarding a seat on the Skyride will cost $5 for a one-way trip or $8 for a round trip. Tickets will be sold at both ends of the ride, and riders can hop on at either location.
Each of the 90 chairs can comfortably hold three people. “This appeals to all ages,” he said. “It is a really nice, peaceful ride that offers unmatched views toward the Sandias, the city and fairgrounds.”
Mourning said it is the first time that he knows of that a State Fair subcontractor paid for and installed a major permanent ride attraction.
Rick Reithoffer, president and CEO of Reithoffer Shows Inc., said the Skyride cost more than $1 million to install, and “only the biggest fairs in the country get a ride such as this.”
This is his fourth year operating the midway at the New Mexico State Fair. “I’m impressed with the fair and with the fair’s leadership, and I wanted to invest in the fair’s continued growth,” he said.
Reithoffer added that he’s brought new and better attractions each year he’s been at the fair, and in response attendance at the fair’s midway has risen steadily.
“We really do love the New Mexico State Fair,” he said.