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In summary, we recommend that the WSHP Authority Board of Directors set up the <br />organization to be run by an experienced professional manager as a commercial <br />operation outside of the State governmental institutions and procedures, that the Board <br />focus its activities on obtaining the site and funding commitments required for the <br />construction of improvements and the first five years of operation, and that the Board <br />actively work with existing equestrian organizations to promote the Horse Park project. <br />VII CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br />The primary objectives of this study were to determine the financial feasibility and <br />potential economic impact of the Washington State Horse Park in its proposed location <br />in Kittitas County, and to make recommendations as to the organizational structure of <br />the institution. We will summarize findings and make recommendations as they pertain <br />to each of these objectives. <br />FINANCIAL FEASIBILITY <br />Horse parks are not money makers in and of themselves. This is a reality which cannot <br />be overlooked. As shown in our analysis, they have a significant positive impact on the <br />economy, but are not themselves profit sources. This Is particularly true for high quality <br />facilities where typically revenues do not fully cover operating expenses._ <br />We developed a relatively sophisticated financial model to determine economic <br />feasibility. The inputs into this model were gathered from.the experiences of operating <br />hol'$e parks around the country, user groups that we surveyed, and the experience of <br />horse park management professionals and consultants. The advantage of using such <br />experiential data is that elements· of good and bad luck. managerial learning, and shifts · <br />in facility goats and procedures are therefore incorporated into the modeling process. <br />Four scenarios of the model were developed and "run;• they .differed as to assumptions <br />48