LakePoint getting first 'Polercoaster'

[BigAl]

Someone's actually going to build one!

EMERSON, Ga. — One of the most unique thrill rides is coming to the world’s largest sports vacation destination. The Polercoaster, created by “inventioneer” Bill Kitchen, designer of the SkyCoaster and SkyVenture, will be built at LakePoint Sporting Community. Located in Emerson, Ga., north of Atlanta, LakePoint Sporting Community is a 1,400+-acre development under construction that will feature state-of-the-art venues for 29 of America’s favorite youth sports and 5 million square feet of mixed-use development. Along with sports, LakePoint will include approximately 29 on-site hotels, restaurants, retail shops, office space and several other entertainment venues.

US Thrillrides has assembled a world-class team to build the attraction, including Celtic Engineering, Haskell Steel, and S&S~Sansei. According to the company, USTR will announce other Polercoaster sales in the next few weeks.

The Polercoaster is an incredible double engineering marvel that will provide visitors an opportunity to ride one of the tallest and most thrilling roller coasters in the United States, as well as visit the observation tower with retail, restaurant/bar and observation area at the top. Polercoaster is a full coaster experience in a small footprint, including multiple loops, barrel rolls and high G-force maneuvers, making it a ride like nothing on the market. The vertical nature of the Polercoaster creates an amazing visual “icon” for LakePoint with potential for exceptional lighting options.

“At over 325 feet tall, the planned Polercoaster at LakePoint will be the tallest coaster in the Southeast and one of the top-ten tallest coasters in the United States. We expect to deliver high thrills for more than 4 million annual visitors to LakePoint,” said US Thrill Rides President, Michael Kitchen. “We believe the Polercoaster will add an electrifying view and an exciting high thrill attraction to the LakePoint development.”

Read the full article here.



Can't wait to see it go up!

 

[Sam]

We need a reality check here: is this actually going to happen? And if it does, will it look anything like the concept art above?

Do this company have any major experience with building thrill coasters/observation towers/revolving restaurants? This would be a daunting challenge even for the most established manufacturers - I imagine B&M and Intamin would baulk at this.

 

[CGM]

S&S probably have more experience building towers than any other ride manufacturer in existence and they are capable of producing a very good rollercoaster. More crucially, they have demonstrated with their El Loco that they can produce a coaster that fits on a tight footprint and can perform outrageous, contorted manoeuvres.

It's possible that this project might suffer setbacks, it is after all the first of its kind, but I think that predicting it won't even get off the ground is a bit too pessimistic. S&S are probably much better equipped than either B&M or Intamin to tackle this project as they have the components they need already in place.

They will also have the help of their new parent company who amongst other things manufacture lifts and rides, including observation towers.

In terms of the scale of the structure, it's similar in size to the likes of Power Tower at Cedar point. Obviously, it will need to be more substantial but I don't think it's a project that's beyond their capability.