Seattle Center calls off giant Ferris wheel for now

The much anticipated 196-feet-high Ferris wheel scheduled to open last week at Seattle Center will not be making its debut this year, after the ride company ran into some "unanticipated liability insurance issues," city officials said Thursday.

Seattle Center spokeswoman Deborah Daoust said the British company that was supposed to make and install the giant wheel delayed the opening until possibly July, after running into the insurance issues.

But Daoust said there were still "too many unknowns" on getting the wheel open in time for the Center's busy summer season.

"That's why we decided to be safe and put it off until next year," she said Thursday.

Daoust said Seattle Center is still looking for an "iconic ride attraction" – perhaps a Ferris wheel again - to open next spring.

Last December, officials had announced with fanfare that it had reached an agreement with British company Great City Attractions to make and install the 196-foot-high Ferris wheel at the north end of the old Fun Forest site.

The wheel, which would have been the tallest on the West Coast, was supposed to open on April 21 and help usher in the Center's 50th anniversary in 2012. Scheduled to be here for 18 months, it was lauded as an "observation wheel" with terrific views and enclosed seating capsules wirable for air conditioning and music.

Officials had expected 750,000 to 1 million annual riders, and city planners concluded in January that the wheel didn't violate height limits or need a land-use permit.

But Daoust said the project became delayed, when Great City Attractions found that doing business in America "functions differently" than in the United Kingdom.

She didn't have details on those business differences.

Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news. Contact Vanessa Ho at 206-448-8003 or vanessaho@seattlepi.com, and follow her on Twitter as @vanessaho.