Media Kit - thecapitalwheel.com

The Capital Wheel
Media Kit
116 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD 20745
301-842-8650 | NationalHarbor.com | TheCapitalWheel.com
The Vision
Good Eats
The Capital Wheel at National Harbor is poised to take its place as a worldclass destination and iconic addition to the skyline of the nation’s capital.
This sophisticated yet family-friendly adventure for visitors of all ages is
the first of its kind in the northeastern region of the United States. The May
2014 debut of The Capital Wheel to National Harbor’s waterfront adds to the
growing roster of large-scale observation wheels around the globe.
Creative seasonal concessions from Wolfgang Puck Catering are available
for purchase by visitors, and Wolfgang Puck Catering can be hired for private
events as well. National Harbor One, the entire Wheel and even the pier on
which it sits can all be rented for functions from intimate parties to weddings
and for business, corporate and organizational events.
Nice Ride!
The Capital Wheel’s 42 climate-controlled gondolas, each accommodating
up to eight passengers, feature glass exteriors to maximize the panoramic
views of the National Mall, Washington Monument, Alexandria’s Masonic
Temple and beyond.
National Harbor One (the VIP Gondola) accommodates up to four
passengers and features glass floors, a retracting monitor/DVD player and
leather bucket seats.
Economic Impact
With their potential for economic development – from both tourism and job
creation – observation wheels are a growing trend nationally and worldwide.
In fact, according to Parenting.com, large-scale wheels had already topped
the list of travel trends by 2013.
Other U.S. cities with such attractions include Atlanta, Las Vegas, Myrtle
Beach, Niagara Falls, Pigeon Forge and Seattle. Globally, wheels are found
in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth (Australia), Cape Town and Johannesburg
(South Africa), Leeds and London (England), Malacca Island (Malaysia) and
the Republic of Singapore.
Our Partners
Icon Attractions, LLC – Icon Attractions is the management company for
the day-to-day operations of The Capital Wheel. Icon Attraction’s management
team brings an average of more than 25 years of extensive experience in the
entertainment industry, from small local attractions to some of the largest water
parks and theme parks to The Capital Wheel and The Carousel at National Harbor.
Wolfgang Puck – The kitchens of renowned, award-winning chef and
restaurateur Wolfgang Puck provide creative seasonal concessions for The Capital
Wheel, as well as catering for private events. Formed in May 1998, Wolfgang
Puck Catering provides restaurant and special event catering and food service
management for cultural, corporate and entertainment venues across the country.
Cianbro – This construction services company whose engineers built The
Capital Wheel is the project’s general contractor and construction manager. With
great fanfare, Cianbro delivered the Wheel’s base components to the National
Harbor job site in late February 2014 after braving winter wind and waves on
the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River. It took two days for a tugboat to push
a barge-load of steel components fabricated at Cianbro’s Baltimore facility to
the site. Cianbro’s team members are skilled and experienced in the complete
spectrum of construction trades, and the firm does civil, structural, mechanical,
electrical, instrumentation, fabrication and coating in 12 markets throughout the
United States.
Chance Rides Manufacturing – This family-owned company
located in Wichita, Kansas, has built amusement rides and attractions for more
than 50 years. Its products include several sizes of observation wheels with
climate-controlled, glass-walled gondolas providing unobstructed views, many also
featuring energy-efficient LED lighting, two-way, wireless communication and SOS
systems. Since 2005, the company has built about one observation wheel a year.
CWA Construction – This Swiss company built the gondolas that Cianbro
installed for The Capital Wheel. The company prides itself on guaranteed customer
satisfaction at the highest level and strives to build customer loyalty through its
customer-first orientation, practical solutions, Swiss quality, integrated design,
innovative power and outstanding after-sales service.
Hours:
Summer Hours:
• May 22 – August 31
Everyday 10am – 11pm
Beginning September, hours are:
• Sunday – Thursday 11 am until 10 pm
• Friday & Saturday 10 am until 11 pm
• New Years Eve open until 1 am
Pricing:
All tickets, plus tax:
• $15 for adults
• $11.25 per child ages 3 – 11
• Free for children ages 2 and under
• Discount pricing is available for seniors and
military with valid ID for $13.50
• Tickets for the VIP gondola cost $50 each
Prices, dates and availability are subject to change without notice.
Methods of Payment: Debit/Credit Card Only. Master
Card, Visa and Discover
Facts & Figures
The Capital Wheel soars 180 feet, 3-5/16 inches above the Potomac River on the National
Harbor waterfront in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Including its base, the Wheel rises
more than 179 feet into the air (179 feet, 3-5/16 inches to be exact). And adding in the pier
on which it stands, the Wheel reaches a height of 180 feet, 2 inches. The Wheel’s diameter
is 171 feet, 2-9/16 inches.
Sweeping views are visible from the 42 glass-enclosed gondolas – including National
Harbor One (the VIP Gondola). The panorama includes the White House, U.S. Capitol,
National Mall, Arlington Cemetery, Washington Monument, City of Alexandria and Prince
George’s County.
The Wheel incorporates 1.6 million fully programmable LED lights with a spectrum of
16,387,064 colors.
Each glass-enclosed gondola weighs 1,500 pounds, measures approximately 6’ long by 5’
wide by 5’ high and holds up to eight passengers (up to 1,380 pounds). With a maximum
of 332 passengers per ride, annual ridership is projected at 600,000 to 800,000.
The gondolas have interior lights and two-way, individual communication with the operator,
and their doors open facing the harbor, for another unobstructed view.
Thanks to its climate-controlled gondolas, the Wheel is open year-round.
Engineering The Capital Wheel
The Wheel was manufactured by Chance American Wheels in Wichita,
Kansas; Brown Craig Turner of Baltimore, Maryland, was the architect;
and Cianbro, also of Baltimore, was general contractor and construction
manager. The spokes, also called “sweeps,” were manufactured to fold in
half for transport.
Once built, the Wheel’s base components were put on a Cianbro barge
and pushed by a Cianbro tugboat from Baltimore to National Harbor via
the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River. Smith’s Shipyard provided
the 1,300 horsepower tug, named Rising Sun and measuring 60 feet long
by 22 feet wide.
Cianbro’s two barges were made by Flexifloat, one (measuring 50 feet
wide by 140 feet long by seven feet deep) for the materials and one
(measuring 60 feet wide by 120 feet long by seven feet deep) for the
crane that lifted the components from the barge to the pier.
Cianbro’s Manitowoc 4100 Series 2 crane has a maximum lifting capacity
of 460,000 pounds.
The materials barge carried 280,000 pounds of galvanized steel base for
the Wheel, fabricated by Cianbro’s Fabrication and Coating Team, and
120,000 pounds’ worth of Wheel tower legs and other miscellaneous
components furnished by Chance Rides.
The Wheel structure weighs approximately 320 tons, exclusive of the
base, whose grid weighs an additional 140 tons. The Wheel’s eight legs
support a 95-foot axle, which took a full day to install.
Four 50-horsepower variable drive motors rotate the Wheel. Each ride
lasts approximately 12-15 minutes.
Installation of the Swiss-made gondolas had to be done in a way that
allowed the Wheel to remain balanced. This required loading the first
four gondolas, one by one, and then rotating the Wheel 180 degrees.
Subsequently, gondolas were loaded four at a time, followed by a 90
degree rotation, until the Wheel was fully assembled.
Iconic Venue
The Wheel is available for private parties and
special events, with catering by Wolfgang Puck
Catering. For more information please contact
Group Sales at 301.842.8650.
Media Contact
Melissa Norris, Icon Attractions
301.857.0145 | [email protected]
Angela Sweeney, Peterson Companies
443.691.2957 | [email protected]
Advertising, media events, media sales,
appearances, filming/photography requests
Melissa Norris, Icon Attractions
301.857.0145 | [email protected]
National Harbor sales, events,
parties, & donations
Ashley Hinmon, [email protected]
The Capital Wheel and Carousel sales, events,
parties, tickets & donations
Melissa Norris, [email protected]
Wolfgang Puck Catering, sales, events,
sponsorships, food & beverage, parties &
donations
Kathryn Lasek, [email protected]
The Capital Wheel Sponsorship
Lisa DeBow, [email protected]
Staying Connected