Greater Saratoga Regional Horse Park Study

Greater Saratoga Horse Park Study

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County (CCESC) has contracted with Markin Consulting to conduct a market and financial feasibility study for a Greater Saratoga Regional Horse Park (the Horse Park), to be located in Saratoga County. The study kicked-off on May 19, 2008 and is expected to be completed in mid-October of 2008. This website is intended to provide periodic updates for the general public about the study process, key issues and critical dates.

The Horse Park, as envisioned by the CCESC and key stakeholders, would consist of three primary components - an equine performance/competition center (the Performance Center), an equine health center (the Health Center) and an equine education, research and communication center (the Equine Center of Excellence). Key questions to be answered by the feasibility study are:

What is the market potential for the three components of the Horse Park – both equine and non-equine related uses? What level of utilization is anticipated for the Performance Center? How can the Health Center and the Equine Center for Excellence best be incorporated into the Horse Park? What services and programs are best suited for the Health Center and Equine Center of Excellence?
What are the facility requirements for the three components of the Horse Park, including ancillary structures, amenities, parking, and other aspects? How can the physical relationships of the three components (i.e., size, layouts, complementary facilities, etc.) be structured to maximize both ease of separate use and synergies for mixed/joint programming?
What is/are the best site(s) for the Horse Park, based on needed acreage, layout potential, access, visibility, ingress/egress and access to site infrastructure?
What are the ranges of development and construction costs associated with each component of the Horse Park?
What level of financial performance can be expected for each component of the Horse Park? What are the estimated annual operating, marketing and maintenance requirements for the Horse Park components? What staffing, pricing, marketing, maintenance, event coordination and others are required to operate the Performance Center successfully? Can the Health Center and the Equine Center of Excellence be self-supporting and stand-alone operations (from the Performance Center)?
How best can the construction and development costs of the three components of the Horse Park be phased and financed? What opportunities are there for public and private funding?
What are the potential economic and fiscal benefits to the Saratoga County area? What potential impacts will the Horse Park have on agriculture, tourism and other business sectors in the County?

Most of the Feasibility Study will be focused on the Performance Center component of the conceptualized Horse Park.

Project Team

The Project Team for this study is comprised of Markin Consulting as the Prime Contractor and HOK Smith Forkner, as the Subcontractor.

Markin Consulting is a national consulting firm that specializes in a broad range of consulting services to the amusement and recreation industry. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm has a major emphasis and large practice serving the equestrian industry. Founded in May 1990, Markin Consulting has conducted over 30 studies for equestrian facilities, as well as numerous studies for fairgrounds, arenas, amphitheaters, museums, convention facilities, tourism attractions, horse racetracks, and motor sports facilities.

HOK Smith Forkner is an HOK Sport Venue Event company that specializes in the master planning and design of fairgrounds, equestrian facilities, arenas, exhibition buildings and event complexes. HOK Smith Forkner has offices in Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee and has worked together with Markin Consulting on over 25 similar planning projects.

Study Highlights

The study was kicked off with a series of work sessions, interviews and meetings over the three-day period May 19 to May 21, 2008. Work sessions and interviews were conducted with a wide variety of stakeholders, business owner representative, state and local government officials, horse enthusiasts and CCESC management and staff. One public meeting was held with select representatives of the Saratoga County equestrian community. The bulk of the meeting was used to gather input about the general demand for horse event facilities in the Saratoga County area, as well as the types of events and activities that could be held at a Horse Park in Saratoga County.

Progress Update

In May/June, CCESC invited (via e-mail broadcast) a wide variety of individuals in the equestrian community to participate in an on-line survey that Markin Consulting administered. We received 270 usable survey responses, representing people from more than 10 states, including 235 from the State of New York. The purpose of the on-line survey was to gather ideas, concepts and general comments about the proposed Greater Saratoga Regional Horse Park. A summary of the survey responses, including the questions and data gathered, can be downloaded for viewing by clicking here.

On August 26, 2008, Rod Markin, President of Markin Consulting, presented a preliminary report that highlighted the progress made on the study, including some preliminary assessment of usage potential (events and activities) and minimum facility needs. A copy of the slide presentation can be downloaded for viewing by clicking here. Markin Consulting is interested in any comments/reactions to the preliminary assessment - use the "Comments" section below to submit them.

Key Dates

November 10, 2008 has been identified as the presentation date for the final study results.

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Comments

Should you have any comments or questions concerning the study, fill in the following and press submit.

CCESC Contact Information