To commemorate the grand opening of the new $700 million tower at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Nik Wallenda and his mom Delilah will cross from the old building to the new one in dramatic fashion.
The high wire spans 150 feet across, the drop 150 feet to the newly built pool deck below.
“I thought, you know what, we are in Tampa Bay this is home to me this whole area is so supportive and so incredible, this is the place to do this with my mom it’s for my hometown my hometown fans and crowds,” Nik Wallenda said. “I called her up, and on the other end she was quiet for a minute did she want to do this it was because she was crying she was so excited about it.”
The last time Nik and Delilah shared a tightrope was in 2011.
“It’s always a celebration; it’s always an amazing feeling and this one just more emotional than any other because it is with my mom,” Wallenda said. “The last one that we did together was actually at Condado Plaza in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where we recreated the walk that took my great-grandfather’s life. That’s the last time we did a walk between buildings together.”
Wallenda said they treat every walk the same no matter how high, no matter the distance.
“We can never get to the point where we are like, oh it’s just another walk in the park, the reality is it’s all the same and mentally we have to prepare just as much as physically the same for any of the walks that we face,” Wallenda said. “It’s not fear it’s respect. My mom will start on the new one. She’ll walk towards me. We’ll get to the middle. She’s done this way longer than me. She did it when she was six months pregnant with me, so I’ve done it longer than I’ve been alive.”
Festivities for the grand opening start at 10 a.m. Thursday. The high-wire walk is scheduled for 12:10 p.m.
