March 28, 2007 - The Official Public Opening Of The Skywalk

Grand Canyon West, a destination owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe at the Grand Canyon’s western rim, announces March 28, 2007 as the official public opening date of The Skywalk. The Skywalk will be the first-ever cantilever shaped glass walkway to suspend more than 4,000 feet above the canyon’s floor and extend 70 feet from the canyon’s rim.

Access to The Skywalk will run from dawn to dusk and will cost $25 per person in addition to the cost of a Grand Canyon West entrance package. One hundred and twenty people will be allowed on the bridge at a time. Admittance is first come, first serve for walk up visitors; however, reservations can be made. Guests will enter and exit the walkway via temporary buildings while the adjacent visitor’s center is being completed.

The historical rollout of The Skywalk structure, with the glass in place, is scheduled for February 27 to March 2. The initial part of the rollout process involves jacking the structure up off of the supports and then subjecting the structure to several days of thorough tests that replicate the conditions of final placement. After the final testing is complete, the multi-million pound steel enforced structure will be rolled out across the canyon’s edge, which takes multiple days. Immediately after the structure is in position, it will be seated and attached to the foundation.

Located at Grand Canyon West’s Eagle Point, The Skywalk facility will also include a 6,000 square-foot visitor’s center on three levels – underground, first story and second story – which will contain a museum, movie theater, VIP lounge, gift shop, and several restaurants and bars, including a high-end restaurant called The Skywalk Café that will offer outdoor patio and rooftop seating on the edge of the canyon.

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LA Times: Grand Canyon Skywalk Opens Deep Divide

GRAND CANYON WEST, ARIZ. — An engineering marvel or a colossal eyesore, depending on who is describing it, the horseshoe-shaped glass walkway will jut out 70 feet beyond the canyon’s edge on the Hualapai Indian Reservation just west of Grand Canyon Village.

The Skywalk will be the catalyst for a 9,000-acre development, known as Grand Canyon West, that will open up a long-inaccessible 100-mile stretch of countryside along the canyon’s South Rim. The cost of the Skywalk alone will exceed $40 million, tribal officials say.

Tribal officials say the development, which may eventually include hotels, restaurants and a golf course, is the best way to address the social ills of a small reservation, where the 2,000 residents struggle with a 50% unemployment rate and widespread alcoholism and poverty.

But off the reservation, many people regard the development and especially the Skywalk as tantamount to defacing a national treasure.

“It’s the equivalent of an upscale carnival ride,” said Robert Arnberger, a former superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park who was born near the canyon’s South Rim. “Why would they desecrate this place with this?”

“I’ve never been able to resolve the apparent conflict between the tribe’s oft-stated claim that there is no better caregiver and steward of the Grand Canyon than the tribe, and their approach to the land — which is based on heavy use and economics,” he said.

“They say the Grand Canyon is theirs to do with however they please. Under law, it’s hard to argue that proposition. But obviously the lure of dollars for the tribal treasury is greater than the obligation to manage the Grand Canyon for its cultural and historic values.”

Other critics say the Skywalk and related development will only add to the commercialization that has detracted from the experience of nature in the national park.

“What the Grand Canyon needs most is a place for quiet contemplation and recreation,” said Kieran Suckling, policy director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental group. “The Skywalk is part of a process that is turning the canyon into a tacky commercial playground.”

Not so, say tribal leaders.

“You look at the park side, they have 4.5 million people a year — it’s Disneyland in itself,” said Sheri YellowHawk, a former member of the Hualapai tribal council and chief executive of the tribe’s business entity. “They have too many cars and can’t resolve their transportation issues. We’re looking at their problems and trying to resolve them up front. We’ve gone through 2 1/2 years of going back and forth with cultural assessment and biological assessments and community input. We have to find a means to self-sustain ourselves. The money is dwindling.”

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Bill’s Take:

Arnberger says “the lure of dollars for the tribal treasury is greater than the obligation to manage the Grand Canyon for its cultural and historic values.” But Arnberger doesn’t have to live on the Hualapai reservation with 50% unemployment and massive poverty. The Hualapai are simply using the all the assets they have available to generate revenue, and tourists, as consumers, will have the opportunity to either patronize the skywalk or avoid it. The success of the skywalk will depend on demand for the view - and I have a feeling there will be a lot of demand. I don’t know if I will do it (I probably will) but if I ever had a problem with the “eyesore” aspect, I know I am free to head on over to the South Rim, the East Rim, or the North Rim. Remember, folks, the park itself is 1,902 square miles. The canyon is about 277 miles long, ranges in width from 0.25 to 15 miles, and attains a depth of more than a mile. That offers plenty of opportunities for the purist to avoid looking at the skywalk.