State fair’s new skylift a ‘game-changer’

The Indiana State Fair is less than two months away, and workers are just beginning to install poles that will support the fair's newest ride, a lift that will carry visitors the length of Main Street.

The Subaru Skyride will offer visitors an easy way to soar over pedestrian traffic and get a bird’s-eye glimpse of the State Fairgrounds.

Unlike other rides, its aim isn't to thrill or scare. But Cindy Hoye, the fair's executive director, believes seeing the fair from a new perspective will help fairgoers appreciate each attraction and better connect the livestock buildings with the attractions in the grandstand.

“For us, it’s a game-changer,” Hoye said. “I predict it will be one of the attractions people want to do every year at the fair."

The ride, like a ski lift without a hill, will rise about 35 feet above the ground and run for about 1,400 feet, from the Swine Barn to the center of the fairgrounds.

The leisurely 2 mph ride will last about 7 minutes. It will have 90 cars, each of which can carry two or three people. A one-way ticket will cost $5.

The ride has a two-year sponsorship by Subaru of Indiana. Senior Executive Vice President Tom Easterday, a lifelong Hoosier and a devotee of the fair's elephant ears, said he’s looking forward to getting an aerial view of the midway.

The $1 million ride will be built and operated by North American Midway Entertainment, a Farmland-based company that operates the rest of the fair’s rides. Midway also operates several other lifts at fairs in other states.

Several other state fairs have been adding similar rides; the State Fair Flyer at North Carolina's state fair debuted in 2016.

Fair manager Wesley Wyatt said he believes the ride helped the fair reach its second-best attendance ever.

"Everyone is always interested in whatever's new," Wyatt said.

Wyatt said the North Carolina State Fair made more than $218,000 from the ride over the course of the fair. An outside contractor operated the ride, and the fair received 32 percent of the ride's ticket sales. The Indiana State Fair will receive only 15 percent of the Skyride's ticket sales.

The Skyride will only be operational during the 17-day fair, and is expected to open Aug. 4, the first day of the fair.

Call IndyStar reporter Ruth Serven at (317) 444-7753. Follow her on Twitter: @ruthserven and on Facebook.