AMESBURY — The Amesbury Sports Park is reassuring potential visitors that their new inflatable sphere ride is perfectly safe after a reporter in Maine broke her back while inside a sphere owned by a company the park recently cut ties with.
Rebekah Metzler, a reporter for the Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine, suffered a fractured back while rolling down a hill inside a inflatable ball called a Zorb during a media preview of the ride at Lost Valley ski area in Auburn, Maine.
Metzler and photographer Lincoln Benedict were strapped inside the plastic sphere Thursday afternoon when it bounced off a hay-encased post and went airborne before landing hard a couple of seconds later.
The Zorb was owned and implemented by Zorb New England, which Amesbury Sports Park officials terminated a contract with last month after learning of the owners' ties to a Newbury antique money scandal.
In a story in the Sun Journal, Metzler said she believed safety precautions may have been relaxed because the ride was not open to the public. Reached yesterday in her hospital room, Metzler would only say she stands behind the Sun Journal's report.
"I wouldn't want this incident to become a black cloud over the Zorb," Metzler told the Sun Journal from the hospital Thursday night. "I think if things are done correctly, it's safe."
She added, "That's my layman's point of view. I think if the concern level is there, it's going to be pretty safe."
The large spheres are designed to hold as many as two passengers, who are strapped in and rolled down a hill.
Zorb New England was set to debut its business in Amesbury when park officials learned that owner Barry Billcliff had made headlines two years ago. Roofers under his employ had found $720,000 in antique money, apparently in a Methuen backyard of one of the men. The story of found treasure reached national news organizations like CNN and the Today Show.
Methuen police later charged Billcliff and three others with stealing the money from a Newbury barn. Charges against the men were dropped when a judge ruled the defendants were not given a speedy trial, but a civil case deciding ownership of the money is still pending.
In an interview during the impasse with the Sports Park, Billcliff said he was running a legitimate business and was trying to rebuild his professional future in the wake of the scandal.
Craig Horrocks, CEO of Zorb Limited of New Zealand, sent a statement to the Sun Journal that was shared with The Daily News. In it, Horrocks said "unfortunately, as you are now aware, the operators had bought a fake device. 'Zorb New England' is an operation that has stolen our name."
Looking to stand behind its family-friendly image, the Sports Park abruptly canceled its contract with Billcliff.
The Sports Park has since contracted with a new company, OGO Inc., run by Chris Roberts, who has worked with the Zorb's New Zealand inventor, Andrew Akers, for 21/2 years. OGO Inc., is not affiliated with Zorb Limited.
The Sports Park plans to debut their new OGO (outdoor gravity orb) ride next weekend with a soft opening, with a full opening in mid-July.
Roberts said the design of the spheres and the tracks they roll down are crucial to the safety of the ride, and based on what he'd seen and heard about the Maine incident, he said those measures didn't appear to be in place.
In pictures of the Zorb New England spheres, Roberts said he noticed the harnesses weren't centralized on the passenger's body to properly balance the person's weight in the sphere. He also said the structure of the spheres appeared to be insufficient.
"It's a low quality product," he said.
Worse, he said, there should be no posts anywhere near the track. According to the Sun Journal report, the ball carrying Metzler hit the post and shot 8 feet into the air.
Roberts said it's the first injury of this sort he's ever heard of.
"It's the first known incident of its kind," he said yesterday. "It stresses the poor operations and safety measures that are paramount."
He said he communicated with Akers yesterday and said the inventor had never heard of such an incident either. In a statement, Akers stood behind the integrity of Roberts to run the ride and stressed the need for proper operation.
MaryCarol Fowler, vice president of the Sports Park, said the tracks for the OGOs took four months to build, all from dirt, to ensure their safety.
"Integrity is where we are at," she said. "We spent a lot of time to make sure we have the right people and the right balls."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
