Steel Pier amusement park has been owned and operated since 1992 by Anthony Catanoso, 55, of Cape May Court House, his brothers and Ed Olwell, who all co-own Atlantic Pier Amusements. Photo by: Edward Lea
By KEVIN POST, Business Editor | Posted: Sunday, August 15, 2010
ATLANTIC CITY — There is much that is unique about Steel Pier, starting with its crucial role as the Boardwalk’s only amusement park.
In a town full of entertainment for adults, Steel Pier stands almost alone as a place for kids.
On Sunday, three of them were sons of Stephanie Fisher, 38, of Frederick, Md.
Fisher said she and her husband, Robert, 35, have been coming to Atlantic City about every other weekend for the past two years.
When it’s open, Steel Pier is the daytime highlight.
“It’s the kids’ turn for fun during the day, then it’s our turn at night,” she said. “I would like to see more attractions like this in Atlantic City.”
While older (and taller) brothers Casey and Jordon got to drive the motorized carts, Dylan Fisher, 8, said he likes Steel Pier because it has “lots of kids stuff.”
“I especially like the Disko and the Rocket,” he said.
The Disko is another thing unique about Steel Pier.
The big spinning saucer on a half pipe is one of four rides whose first U.S. appearance was on Steel Pier, said Anthony Catanoso, 55, of Cape May Court House.
Catanoso, along with brothers Chuck, Bill and Joe, all of Cape May, and Ed Olwell, of North Wildwood, co-owns Atlantic Pier Amusements, which owns and operates the amusement park.
The pier’s slingshot Rocket ride was the first of its kind to use, instead of bungee cords, steel cables and springs for propulsion skyward, with an electromagnet holding the passenger ball in place until liftoff, Anthony Catanoso said.
The Crazy Mouse spinning roller coaster was a first when it was introduced in 1996, and this year’s national debut was the Steel Pier Monster Plunge.
“That’s a drop and spin tower, with a 50 foot tower,” Catanoso said. “No other tower in the country spins as it drops.”
At the ocean end of Steel Pier is another ride he said is unique to the Jersey Shore: helicopter tours.
Up to three passengers can choose one of three tours, starting at $39 each. “We also do packages with various hotels and bed and breakfasts in the area,” he said.
Atlantic Amusements started on Steel Pier in 1992 after Trump Entertainment found out the state wouldn’t approve plans for condo development across the Boardwalk from its flagship Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
The amusement park has grown steadily since — this year adding two kids rides in addition to the spinning drop tower — and now has 25 rides, 22 games of chance, 11 food outlets and four retail outlets, Catanoso said. The Flores Family performs a free motorcycle show inside a big steel ball at the pier entrance four to six times a day.
The growth has been driven by an increase in families, he said, and on the Fourth of July this year more than 30,000 people went onto the pier.
The market niche the park has developed fits nicely into Gov. Christie’s plan to make Atlantic City, and especially its Boardwalk, more family friendly, he said.
“I feel good about the governor’s initiative. I think it’s going to help, concentrating on more noncasino, nongaming attractions, and also talking about public-private partnerships,” Catanoso said.
In particular, he thinks it’s time for Atlantic Pier Amusements to get public help — perhaps from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority — with funding a major attraction such as a $4 million roller coaster.
“We’ve been here 19 years and we never took any public money,” he said, but now it could be time. “We’re the perfect candidate.”
A coaster would be a major draw and add to the pier’s strongest segment, thrill rides, he said. And bolstering the city’s best-performing tourist attractions makes sense.
“Even last year, in a bad economy, the four segments that increased were Steel Pier, The Walk, Gardner’s Basin and Atlantic City Cruises,” Catanoso said. “All are noncasino, all family entertainment, succeeding in a sluggish casino environment.”
Before it can add a coaster or other high-end attraction, Atlantic Pier also needs to get a longer lease than the two- and three-year increments Trump Entertainment has offered previously, he said.
“Hopefully we’ll enter into a longer lease. There are indications that we’ll get one,” he said.
Whatever the future of Steel Pier, it will always have its other unique attribute: A 20th century history as the Showplace of the Nation that helped launch the careers of Burns and Allen, Frank Sinatra and many others.
That keeps entertainers such as Kim Delaney and Pia Zadora, as well as sports stars Allen Iverson, Julius “Dr. J.” Erving and Shaquille O’Neal, coming to walk on the entertainment world’s sacred ground above the ocean
“We try to give them their space. We don’t bug them too much,” Catanoso said.
Steel Pier amusement park
Owner: Atlantic Pier Amusements; principals Anthony Catanoso, of Cape May Court House, and brothers Chuck, Bill and Joe, all of Cape May, and Ed Olwell, of North Wildwood
Founded: 1992
Employees: 200
Revenue: Undisclosed
Visit the pier
The pier is located at 1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ, 08401. The pier is open 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, noon to 1 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Single tickets are $0.75, 35-ticket books are $25, 80-ticket books are $50, 200-ticket books are $100. For more information, call 866-386-6659, 609- 345-4893 or click here for a link to the park’s website.