November 13, 2007
For Immediate Release Nov. 13, 2007
Contact:
Dan Jasper
952-883-8829
djasper@mallofamerica.com
Nickelodeon Universe is underway at Mall of America®
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - The country's largest retail and entertainment destination has broken ground to transform the world's largest indoor amusement park to Nickelodeon Universe.
The work will transform the park into a Nickelodeon wonderland teaming with characters like Spongebob Squarepants and Dora the Explorer. Four new rides will be added to the seven acre indoor theme park scheduled to open in spring of 2008 and will make Nickelodeon Universe the first-ever Nickelodeon themed park in the world.
"The biggest challenge for the construction workers is working within a confined, operating and functioning park that is open to the public. We have to work around all the existing services that are in place to keep The Park running, such as all the electrical and the fire protection systems," said Dean Spratt, PCL Construction Services Senior Project Manager.
Working overnight to keep the Park open during business hours, PCL Construction will work 4,400 man hours to install new rides including two thrill roller coasters, SpongeBob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge and Avatar Airbender. These spine-tingling coasters are the first of their kind to be built inside a mall and completely indoors. The coaster parts are manufactured in Germany and Italy and are shipped to Mall of America for assembly.
There will be 20, 40-foot long cargo boxes containing sections of the coaster tracks, with the heaviest weighing 16,000 pounds. A 35-ton crane will lift the heavy sections of track and put them in place. In all, the two roller coasters will consist of 45-tons of reinforcement steel, 8-tons of structural steel and 4,000 cubic yards of concrete. The makeover also has its benefits for the environment. Nearly 85 percent of the construction demolition is recycled. That's 2,179 tons of material or 5,000 cubic yards.
"This is such an exciting project to be a part of. It's amazing to see images on a piece of paper actually come to life. This project is like no other," said Spratt.
A new visitor loyalty program coinciding with the construction has launched this month. The "Nickelodeon Kids Construction Crew" program will reward guests for visiting The Park at MOA™. Each ticket booth will distribute a yellow construction hat with every unlimited wristband purchase. The hat is a keepsake and reward system — each time the child returns between November and February and buys an unlimited wristband, he or she will receive a sticker to add to the hat. After collecting all five stickers the guest will earn a certificate for a free unlimited wristband good at Nickelodeon Universe when it opens.
Nickelodeon will bring an assortment of its top characters and interactivity to Mall of America. The newly revamped park, and the first ever Nickelodeon theme park, will feature new rides, live shows, attractions, retail, games and entertainment themed with top ranking network properties including: SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Danny Phantom, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius,
The Backyardigans and many more. Daily meet-and-greets with the characters and talent will be a highlight of Nickelodeon Universe.
For more information, visit www.theparkatmoa.com.
About Mall of America
Mall of America is the nation's largest retail and entertainment complex. The 4.2 million square foot complex is home to more than 520 world-class shops; The Park at MOA, the nation's largest indoor family amusement park; Underwater Adventures® Aquarium, a 1.2 million gallon walk-though aquarium; a 14-screen movie theater and more. The Mall opened in August of 1992 and is located in Bloomington, Minn., just minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. For more information visit mallofamerica.com
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon Recreation began in 1990 and since has grown to include a diverse range of complex and specialized business segments including hotel resorts, touring family theatricals and theme park attractions.
Nickelodeon, in its 27th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 92 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for almost 12 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
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