MARKET FEASIBILITY

Enhancing Your Chances for Success

Traced to the Middle Ages (but without attribution), the adage, ‘Measure twice, cut once,’ is as applicable today as it was then, perhaps more so given the investment required for designing, building, and opening (or significantly upgrading) an entertainment center in today’s market. With total costs ranging from seven to eight figures, it is imperative to think twice and spend once.

With all the factors that must come into consideration before committing to the expense of bringing an entertainment center to your market, your assumptions should be checked and rechecked by a viable third party who is experienced in assessing markets and creating concepts targeting specific demographics and who has actual experience in operating entertainment centers. This is achieved by completing what is sometimes called a Market Feasibility Study. Doing so will increase your confidence in any decision, regardless of the outcome. Remember, sometimes the best answer is no.

The process is straightforward. A reputable, independent third-party market analyst will visit your market and meet with you to understand your

By Bruce Nussbaum

goals for a new or upgraded facility. The analyst will then spend some time touring the market, observing things like traffic patterns, real estate development projects, and overall business activity. The analyst will also visit competitive (or potentially competitive) venues to understand what is available to consumers in the market, what niches may be untapped, and the quality of these operations.

A proper Market Feasibility Study does not look just at what can be built – e.g., how big of a building can be built on a lot or how much programming can fit within an existing structure – it seeks to determine what should be built.

Think of the process as building a house,

The first step in the process is understanding the demographics of your market, a fancy way of saying who lives in the market and is available to become a guest. Then one tries to figure out who from that