04-04-1994 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Mary Saarion February 28, 1994 City of Mounds View Page 5 Croix and as such, will not be direct competition to the proposed Mounds View Facil- ity. Summary of Findings Based on overall trends in the amusement industry, it appears that miniature golf is increasing in popularity but not as much as indicated three years ago. While interest is growing among families with children (probably due to the increase in this house- hold type in the suburbs since 1980), interviews indicated that interest is declining among older teens and young adults. Many persons in this category are now going to one of the many casinos near the metropolitan area. While we have no other pri- mary research to verify this trend, it reflects news accounts of the loss of business among bars and restaurants in other parts of Minnesota. Despite this, we believe that additional miniature golf courses could be developed in the north area. A review of industry literature shows that 100,000 persons are re- quired to support two 18-hole courses (or 50,000 persons per course). Ramsey Coun- ty (excluding St. Paul), Anoka County and the northern portion of Washington County has an estimated 1992 population of 567,200 according to the Metropolitan Council. Adding in roughly 100,000 persons from the northern portion of St. Paul results in a total population of 667,200, translating to a total of 13 18-hole courses supportable in the north area. Since there are 11 courses currently operating in this area (nine in Table 1 and two where no information was available), there appears to be room for two additional courses. The Planned Miniature Golf Facilities section (above) indicates that five courses are pending in the north area including the subject project in Mounds View but excluding the possible one in Shoreview (since it is so tentative). If all planned courses move ahead there will be a very competitive situation that could hurt facilities with fewer attractions, poor visibility and/or access or other problems (i.e., parking, maintenance). The proposed course adjacent to City Hall will have excellent visibility but access could be difficult at certain times of the day unless a traffic light is installed. In addition, you may want to consider other attractions to increase the drawing power of the facility: video games, batting cages, etc. would provide other amusement alterna- tives that would allow the facility to compete better with other multi-attraction facili- ties.