field startup-help a magger out

[phantomhitman]

Much to my surprise I was presented with a proposal to open a paintball field today by some of my co-workers (So far 3 serious, and 1 sceptical). After only their 3rd game they want to dive head first into the sport, I just cannot say no to them :D . This is just being talked about right now, nothing certain or set in stone. Only thing that is clear is that the first field will be indoors inside of a warehouse (I am told it is 100 yards long by 30 yards wide), with other fields outside to come if the indoor field does well. So if you have pics of great indoor setups, or even ideas of bunkers to use let me know. Trying to get good suggestions on bunkers and placement inside the warehouse would be great. There is not an indoor field that I know of in North Carolina, so it will be a new concept.

Were is a good place to look to find basic startup prices/questions? I remember seeing a book "how to create a paintball field" or something similiar, but I cannot find the link to it anymore. It was a very thick manual with just about everyting you need to know to open the field. I believe it was around $100 also. Can someone give me a link to a site where I can buy it?

Where is the best place to buy basic startup supplies (markers, nettings, maybe plexiglass windows to replace the ones in it now?, insurance, paintballs, chronos etc)? What would you recomend for the first batch of markers (15-20 to start with)? Where do I need to go to find out about zoning (town hall?) or do I have to ask the town if I am even allowed to open it? I remember another ao'er having problems opening a field because of neighbor/town council problems. I believe he might have been from Ohio, but I am not sure. A lot of people helped him out with links and suggestions, materical to use and research information for proof. I cannot find that link to save my life, can someone help me dig it up? Or even send me material through email or pm that could help me in any way?

Basically we are going to chip away at this, not just bury ourselves $20 grand in debt. We will set it up for our use to begin with, then bring in the bunkers and safety nettings. The markers and equipment (co2 and nitro stations) next, followed by back up supplies for the markers and field equipment. Gradually working our way to a nice indoor operation. After that goes well it will expand into the outdoors for woods, speedball, hyper, air, etc fields. I know I am forgetting a ton of inforamtion right now, but I am trying to feel it out right now. I would appreciate any links, information, other things to remember, what NOT to do, and just anything you want to say at this point. I will be looking at the facility in the next week or so, so I will update then. Thank you for yoru time and any posting that you can do.
Joe

[.tMan]

well I skimmed that post and I have one answer for you :-)
for your first run of guns I suggest tippmann 98 customs. They are cheap, reliable, and won't be beat up into non-working condition by n00bs. I hope this helps out a bit. Check out the tippmann site at http://www.tippmann.com

You should gte in contact with the shop guys and ask if they may be able to do a bulk discount on maybe 20 markers.

good luck man, hope you get your field(s) going

tMAN

[badinfo]

Just wondering where in NC?

Dunno how useful they would be but SportsmansGuide.com has some East German inflatable bouys that look alot like the so called "can" bunkers that I seem to recall were pretty cheap.

[speedyejl]

1. Make sure its clean, very important
2. Provide netting around the entire feild, cleaning paint from walls is incredibly tedious
3. Spectator zones where people can look through the netting without masks
4. Large clean staging area
5. Provide counter space so you can expand into an indoor proshop
6. Look into an L designed feild, which can allow you to have 2 feilds running, or 1 large feild for busy days/nights
7. Use soft thick carpeting for the floor that will alow paint to sink through so it isnt that slippery but be soft when people hit hard (remember your probably going to have concrete underneath the feild)
8. Custom air bunkers are always a plus, get a large package and use sand bags to keep them down
9. Hold organized tournaments
10. Contact AGD about getting a feild set of mags with HPA which will prove cheaper in the long run.
11. In house compressor (makes life much easier)
12. contact NPS for feild packages, and look into getting sponsored from big companies like DYE, your feild paint brand, and other companies.
13. Lots of positive advertisement in local papers

Island Paintball Arena is a great indoor feild near me, I'd recomend reading their site through, http://www.islandpaintball.net/arena.html
and picking up some stratagies.

[phantomhitman]

thanks for the help everyone, I am looking into equipment prices as I speak. The field will be more or less in central nc, but please remember this is only a thought for now. It will be months before something is acted upon.

[ramennoodles]

start a field (http://www.nationalpaintball.com/html/startfield.asp)
start a store (http://www.nationalpaintball.com/html/startstore.asp)
those are both great packages put out by national paintbal supply, for bunkers, old spools(local electric company, if they seem hesitant off so put up a sign"Spools generously donated by soandso electric") pallets, plastic 55 gallon drums, just a host of possibilities.

[speedyejl]

For indoor Airball or nothing

Also a note on using electro markers as rentals. It seems great since renters will love the speed and you'll make larger paint sales but on the other hand rentals might not be happy if the guns are prone to chopping w.o agitated hoppers.

[phantomhitman]

i thought about the electro markers also, but what is a decent priced electro that can take a beating? I mean if the fields outside ever opened up I would want a reliable marker there also. It would be nice to have indoor/outdoor guns rather than 2 different sets. I have found a lot of interesting setups indoors so far in my search.

[speedyejl]

Well the NPS pacakges which were just posted had Silver Bullet and IconE as package options, just brought it to mind.

[SatansGun]

i would say go with field mags for good relable(sp) field markers

[phantomhitman]

beleive me i would love to, but i am trying to keep costs low to start with. i have an idea that i have only seen at 1 other place with rental guns though. ill let you know if this ever becomes a reality.

thank you to everyone for taking the time to respond to me. :D

*forgot to add the word me after beleive :D

[tyrion2323]

Things to have for a quality field (will be some repeats)

(1) Highly trained and sociable staff. You want people to feel welcome at the park.
(2) CLEAN FACILITIES! Make sure that people want to be there.
(3) Enough seating/storage areas. People don't want to stand around all the time.
(4) Taught, safe netting around the field. Watching the games makes sitting in the dead box (or parents watching kids play) MUCH more fun.
(5) Exciting fields. Not everyone is into hyp'air and stuff. Include fun obstacles and strangely shaped barricades. Even stiff-neck tourny players will appreciate it!
(6) SAFETY! Seriously, though.
(7) Quality rentals. Something easy like mech spyders. People want quality guns that aren't too beat up. Nobody wants to get the "crappy rental gun."
(8) Tolerance and Openness. Don't allow those potty-mouthing, "bad-***" teams to exclude others. I've been turned off to fields that let people swear, make derogatory statements, etc. It's BS, and people should get one warning before permanent banning.
(9) BPS/team stacking anti-measures. It SUCKS to be the newbie playing against the "pro team" who shoots angels and timmies, and to be scared shizless. Make the "pros" use a backup gun, and MAKE SURE THE TEAMS ARE FAIR!
(10) I've played in a yucky indoor field with crappy carpeting. When you would slide, you'd slide past your bunker, and your pants would be horribly dirty. Make sure to keep the fields in good condition. Remember, 2 great fields are worth more than 4 yechy fields.
(11) Have an air compressor setup at the field. Running off of temporary scubas sucks, because it limits how "wild" you can get on the field. You're too worried about how many games you can squeak in and not having enough fun.
(12) Hold lots of fun tournaments and leauges. They don't have to have huge prizes, but enough to get team interests going.

I will probably add more as I think of them.

Jacob

[phantomhitman]

great points there tyrion2323. behind safety and i will looking into the enovronment of the field most. Which includes setup and relax stations, spectators spots, the pro vs noobs restrictions, and overall "feel" of the people playing there. I have been at too many fields were Mr. Angelman looks down upon the noobs and just loves ripping them apart as well as fields having immature refs. Hopefully we will not have any refs under 18, which still doesnt mean they will be mature. Please do not take offense to this younger crowd, but about %90 of the refs I have dealt with that are under 21 have been screw offs. There are always exceptions though. I will keep everyone updated. :D

[Severe]

First off, I would look at what land/location you are wanting to use. Then look at EVERY paintball field within 50-100 miles and ask yourself, "what am I going to do better to bring their business to me?" The mere fact that it will be an indoor field is interesting enough, but will that be a large enough draw.

I'm in Raleigh, NC and I can tell you this is a staturated area for paintball. Between Wake and the surrounding counties I can name no less than 5 fields. You have to take things like that in to consideration. I'm not sure by saying 'central NC' where you are implying. I'd be curious to know.

Also, consider if you're looking to do this as a job or a side hobby. Will you have the time to invest? As for capital, I would consider $20K a modest investment between three people to start.

No matter what, you're going to have to deal with:

Fire Regulations. Does your building have sprinklers?
Indoor fields are inherently messy.
How are you going to approach the issue of clearing up thousands of paintballs after a day of play?
You'll need a contract for CO2 and HPA fill containers. Also fill stations.
Field Insurance. I'm not sure how they regulate indoor fields...I would imagine you would be required to chrono at a lower fps.

There are a TON of other considerations. I'm sure you're already exploring all of that. I know a little about this because I once researched opening up a field around here too. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk.

Steve

[lord1234]

check out www.bostonpaintball.com for some pics of a nice indoor field...

[GA Devil]

Check into NationalPaintball.com They have start up packages available with everything you need to start a field plus they are 1 of the biggest suppliers and you will need an accoutn with them (or pmi) for paint anyway. I recommend National.

[Shane-O-Mac]

Ok, guys dont hate me, but dont get field rental mags.....
Why? because they are very time consuming to clean and repair (remember we are dealing with 2-30 guns) when you have to do it after every day of rental use.and they can be a it expensive to have to buy20 at a time. at my local field where i help out, we have been using piranhas, as they are extremely easy to clean and fix and they shoot great. PMI will make you ackage deals for a field. stay away from NPS for guns, unless you go with a tippman package, as all of NPS blowbacks are kinda iffy on quality control. we had mags about 4-5 years ago, and they were just a huge PITA. and if you can afford it, buy a good air compresor and go strictly HPA, for rentals. it is the best and easiest to refill and actually cheaper in the long run. plus the guns dont wear out as fast because of liquid co2 and huge velocity spikes. if you get to actually doing this, and need help on the compressor idea or need places to buy one, drop me a line and i can help you out as much as i can. we recently bought and set-up a compressor at our field and the payment on the compressor, is the same as what our monthly HPA bulk air and tanks cost us. so in the end you have a compressor and something to show for your money.

Shane-O

[badinfo]

Air bunkers? (http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=65895)

These are the bouys I was talking about.

[phantomhitman]

thank you both. i hope my partner went to check out the warehouse this weekend, if not then i will next weekend.

those buoys are pretty cool, not too bad on the price either. to bad they dont make snakes, cans, or doritos. :D