USA TODAY International Edition
Cincinnati skyline getting a new addition
A 150-foot observation wheel will open at The Banks in one week, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber has announced.
The SkyStar wheel likely will be the biggest change Cincinnati’s skyline has seen since Great American Tower was built, but it is only temporary, a celebration of the 10th anniversary of The Banks.
Operating from Friday to Dec. 2, the wheel will sit on Freedom Way across from the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
For a comparison, the Freedom Center is about 70-feet tall. The nearby Scripps Center is about 470 feet tall.
“SkyStar is America’s largest portable observation wheel and it will light up the sky with over 1 million colored LED lights,” said Todd Schneider of SkyStar. “This experience promises to provide unique views of downtown Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, the suspension bridge and the Ohio River.”
It will have 36 enclosed gondolas, each holding as many as six passengers. The rides will last 12 minutes and include four revolutions.
The Chamber’s Cynthia Oxley said SkyStar’s presence will overlap with Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, the Ale to the Queen City Thanksgiving weekend craft beer festival, Bud Light Tailgate Zone pre-game Bengals parties and other events.
Skystar Wheel LLC is based in St. Louis. It had an observation wheel installed in Louisville this spring and in Norfolk, Virginia, this summer.
The wheel will operate seven days a week. Tickets will cost $12.50 and can be purchased at www.skystarwheel.com..
The Banks is where Cincinnati comes to play,” Tracy Schwegmann, who does marketing for the development. “So thank you SkyStar for bringing what just may be the biggest toy in the toybox.”