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A London Eye for Atlanta?

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Published: Nov. 10, 2010 at 7:09 PM

ATLANTA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The group that created the London Eye is contemplating Atlanta as the home of the next giant Ferris wheel.

The problem appears to be finding someone willing to pay the millions of dollars it would cost to acquire the land and erect the wheel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Bernard Marcus, the founder of Home Depot, presided at a meeting Tuesday with the London Eye group, 30 Atlanta business leaders and Mayor Kasim Reed. Both Marcus and Reed spoke enthusiastically about the plan, but Reed said no city funds would go for a Ferris wheel and Marcus said he is not planning to provide any financial backing.

The Eye gets about 3.5 million visitors a year willing to pay $30 to rotate for 30 minutes over London in an enclosed capsule with 24 other people. The developers say a similar wheel in Atlanta would lure 2.7 million visitors a year.

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