The Las Vegas Strip may be getting a roller coaster, according to FOX News. U.S. Thrill Rides LLC has submitted plans to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to build a 650-foot-tall roller coaster.
The roller coaster, called the "Polercoaster," would be located near the Tropicana Hotel. It would be the tallest roller coaster in the world, combining a ride with an observation tower where visitors would have stunning views of Las Vegas.
The FAA is still determining whether the structure would be hazardous to flights arriving and departing from nearby McCarran International Airport.
Financing, as well as a firm deal on the site where the roller coaster would be built, have not been finalized as the company waits for the FAA to approve the design.
Michael Kitchen, the president of U.S. Thrill Rides, is optimistic about the roller coaster. He has held discussions with banks willing to provide the necessary loans for the ride, which has an estimated cost of close to $100 million.
"Since Las Vegas is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, we think it will get higher visibility and foot traffic than other places," Kitchen told the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The ride is described on the company's web site.
Guests are "driven to the top, loading them with enormous potential energy," the description reads. "Gravity then takes over, aided by designers skilled in wringing every ounce of adrenaline out of that stored energy."
U.S. Thrill Rides is based in Windmere, Florida, and has built approximately 300 rides, many of them roller coasters, for amusement parks. The Polercoaster was an idea of the CEO Bill Kitchen, the founder of the company and the father of Michael Kitchen.
"It goes very high, so you get an enormous amount of thrill from a very small amount of space," Bill Kitchen told FOX News. "Using a couple of acres that you would need for a regular roller coaster would be out of reach on the Strip because of the cost."
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