February 22, 2008 Food and beverage giant Pepsi has announced it will create America’s largest Ferris wheel in New Jersey. The 287-foot-tall “Pepsi Globe” will be incorporated into Meadowlands Xanadu, a unique sports, leisure, shopping and family entertainment destination in East Rutherford.
The Pepsi Globe will be green powered year round, with energy obtained through the purchase of wind power credits from a Texas generating plant, and it will be at least partially made from recycled materials. Pepsi will offer unique interactive experiences during the Pepsi Globe ride, which will last approximately 25 minutes for a full revolution and offer sweeping vistas of the New York skyline and the Hudson River. Groups of up to 20 visitors each will enter 26 glass-enclosed, climate controlled capsules for the ride of a lifetime.
As part of a 10-year tenant/naming rights agreement, Pepsi will implement a series of promotional activities and tie-ins, including the nationwide distribution of 450 million beverage cans featuring the Pepsi Globe at Meadowlands Xanadu, commemorating the wheel’s grand opening event.
When complete, Meadowlands Xanadu will encompass 94 acres and will feature five distinct Lifestyle Districts: sports, entertainment, youth culture, food and home, and fashion.
The 287 foot (87 meter) Pepsi Globe is still somewhat of a minnow on a global scale. The Star of Nanchang in China currently holds the title at 525ft (160m) but the Singapore Flyer is set to become the world’s tallest Ferris wheel at 541ft (165m) when it opens in March this year. The London eye stands at 443ft (135m).
The Singapore wheel will not remain at the top of the list for long. The same group building it, the Great Wheel Corporation, will also open a monolithic 682ft (208m) high wheel in Beijing in 2009 and a 564ft (172m) wheel in Berlin.