AKRF Foresees Positive Economic Impact from Bethel Woods Center
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With its economic analysis of the new Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, AKRF predicted positive impacts for a wide range of businesses in the surrounding Sullivan County, NY area. As shown in this recent Times Herald-Record article, that speculation is now clearly a reality.
Local restaurants, hotels, and retailers are thriving because of Bethel Woods, which opened in 2006. Bethel Woods drew more than 224,000 people in 2010, while last year's three-day Phish concert alone drew 50,000 people.
On an annual basis, AKRF assesses the fiscal and community economic effects of the Bethel Woods' operations, including its concert and cultural events and the newly opened Museum at Bethel Woods. AKRF's original economic analysis was part of a environmental impact statement (EIS) prepared for Bethel Woods in 2002, when the center was proposed on a site that includes the main field of the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival. The EIS also included cultural resource studies that were critical to building Bethel Woods.
