JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Recently, an independent analysis of the proposed Bison World project found it to be financially viable. David Haukaas, an independent advisor, took on the project.

Haukaas, a Minnesota native, served as a senior executive on one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. He recently moved back to the United States and specifically to Jamestown, because his wife Heather is from the area. He was approached to look at the project and see if it passed the economic viability test.

Haukaas stressed the importance of looking at it totally independently.

According to Haukaas, the findings show Bison World is financially viable, and it does have a positive profit margin.

The financial analysis used an attendance model that includes the percentage of visitors that North Dakota saw in 2021. North Dakota saw about 21.7 million visitors from 49 states in 2021.

During the first year of operations, the net present value of Bison World would be $9.8 million with 1% of the visitors or 217,100, $46.1 million with 1.5% of the visitors or 325,650 and $100.6 million with 2.25% of the visitors or 488,475.

Now that the project is proven to be economically viable, it is being presented to key decision-makers. Haukaas said the group is talking with state legislators, with the departments of both tourism and commerce to find out if this is something of interest to the state.

Haukaas said that right now, the project is gathering very broad support.

Haukaas said they have not run into any nay-sayers for the project so far, just questions about how the project would be viable year-round in North Dakota.

So where does the project sit right now? Haukaas said that blueprints are drawn up, it is “shovel-ready”. The project has been proven that it is a “good investment” that requires public/private support.

Haukaas said the best way the public can show support for the project is by writing to your legislators or the governor and asking for their support.

To listen to the full interview click below…