One Times Square, best known as the backdrop for the New Year’s Eve ball drop, is stepping into a year-round spotlight. Visitors can now buy timed tickets to ride a glass elevator up to a 360-degree wraparound viewing deck roughly 19 stories above the Crossroads of the World and wander through multi-floor exhibits that bring the ball and Times Square’s history practically within arm’s reach. The overhaul by owner Jamestown has turned what was once a mostly empty tower into stacked ticketed experiences, from candy-themed installations to curated New Year’s Eve displays.
Preview experiences and the remake
In a press release from Jamestown, the developer said it launched limited-time preview experiences that include a standalone Viewing Deck, a Viewing Deck + NYE Ball Access package, and a premium option that bundles a commemorative crystal. Jamestown described the work as part of a roughly $550 million redevelopment that will open the building to the public for the first time in decades. According to the company, tickets for the preview went on sale in mid-December, and the packages have been used to preview the new Constellation Ball.
A tour from the deck
One Times Square general manager Delfin Ortiz walked a Spectrum News NY1 reporter through the new deck and said the space is meant to work for both quick photo ops and longer hangs. “Take in Times Square or learn more about Times Square, learn about what’s happening around Times Square and see what plays in,” Ortiz told NY1. From the open-air deck, visitors can look river to river and read the neighborhood’s neon scoreboard from an angle most New Yorkers have only ever seen on TV.
Tickets, hours and logistics
Timed-entry tickets are sold online only. The official listing shows base fares starting at about $30, with an NYC-resident discount and optional add-ons for ball access and souvenir crystals. The viewing experience includes a glass elevator ride and a glass walkway about 19 floors above Times Square, and the site urges visitors to buy ahead of time. For groups and private events, the One Times Square booking information lays out group options and accessibility details on the attraction’s site.
iCandy and the museum floors
Inside the building, a multi-floor attraction called iCandy NYC reimagines city landmarks in candy-colored form and lets visitors fill a commemorative container as they move through the route. The iCandy website highlights photo moments, interactive games, and a Candy Shop at the end of the experience, and it lists visit duration, accessibility information, and ticketing handled through Fever and the One Times Square portal. The family-friendly installation is one of several branded activations Jamestown has slotted into the revamped tower.
Balls, crystals and confetti
Ortiz told NY1 that later this year the building plans a “crystal exchange,” where visitors could remove a 2026 crystal and place a 2027 crystal on the Constellation Ball, keeping the removed crystal as a keepsake. The rollout also includes a confetti wishing wall, where visitors can write a wish on a piece of confetti that will be collected and dropped at midnight on Dec. 31, 2026, and the site displays retired balls from past ceremonies. NBC New York reported that the Constellation Ball unveiled for 2026 is the largest yet, studded with more than 5,200 Waterford crystals and designed as the ninth iteration of the New Year’s Eve ball.
What it means for Times Square
For Midtown, the opening functions as a test of whether Times Square’s towering advertising shell can double as an earned visitor economy instead of remaining mostly façade. Jamestown and tourism officials have pitched the project as a way to broaden the neighborhood’s offerings beyond billboards and Broadway, a shift earlier coverage has followed as part of the building’s next chapter. For background on the ball’s redesign and the build-out leading to these openings, see our earlier piece on the ball’s redesign.
