Paper Topic: Recreation Demand and Economic Value of Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park

There are some interesting strategies utilized to measure the economic value of public recreational facilities.  At face value, it is hard to really grasp what they do for the local economy:  They don't bring in revenues (unless there is a use fee), they don't create many permanent jobs, and most of their benefits are hard to quantify.  Nonetheless, public recreation parks and facilities provide value to the community.  It is my research proposal to measure the demand and economic value of the Rocky Knob Mountain Bike Park.  Utilizing data from last semester's Benefit-Cost Analysis class, I will create a demand function and measure the consumer surplus provided by the park.  In addition, I will conduct a sensitivity analysis to see how a change in some variables affects the overall value of the park.