A developer won permission to construct the Ferris wheel as the centerpiece of an amusement park and retail centre planned for a vacant plot of land on the Strip, opposite the Mandalay Bay Hotel. If built, it would be the third-tallest Ferris wheel in the world and, at 500 feet, would be the maximum allowed by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The site is less than half a mile from McCarran International Airport, where more than 35 million passengers land every year. Developer Howard Bulloch got the green light for the project from Clark County commissioners.
The idea behind the Ferris wheel, according to Bulloch's attorney Ed Garcia, is to offer "a very unique view of the Las Vegas Strip." Bulloch has not disclosed the financial backers of the project but hopes to have it built in 18 to 24 months, Garcia said. The 541-foot Singapore Flyer is the tallest operating Ferris wheel in the world, followed by the 525-foot Star of Nanchang in China. The London Eye, on the banks of the Thames River, reaches 443 feet.
