STORY:
New Ball Headed For New York

Crystal Times Square Ball is finished

In the biggest and most expensive project ever undertaken by the company, Waterford Crystal has finished manufacturing the "Millennium Ball" that will be lowered during the New Year's Eve celebrations in New York's Times Square.

The geodesic sphere is six feet in diameter, is made up of 2,500 crystal triangles and presented its makers with exceptional technical and design challenges, such as how to make a structure capable of withstanding extreme weather.

Parts were tested in wind tunnels to ensure they could withstand winds of up to 60 m.p.h. according to the Irish Times. The 500-pound Ball was constructed not to crack in sub-zero temperatures, rain and snow when it's lowered down a 77-foot flagpole, 22 stories above Times Square.

Although Waterford is not saying how much it cost to make the special Millennium Ball, which is a gift to the city of New York, the company expects to recoup the costs in the publicity the Ball will generate.

The mayor of Waterford, Alderman Pat Hayes, will travel to New York next week to formally present the Millennium Ball to his New York counterpart, Rudolph Giuliani.

Source: Irish Times

DATE: 8/26/99

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