Fields and Stores dropping like flies

[StygShore]

Any of you experiencing a lot of field and store closures?

In SE Michigan the following Paintball Facilities are now closed or going out of business.

Battleground's Paintball ( Like 15 years in business )
Hyper Sports
Lonewolf Store in Utica
Atomix Paintball Field ( 3 years in business )
The Plex (PBX) ( only lasted a couple of months )
UPC Indoor
Splattball City
Ace Paintball
P and P Paintball

These are still open -

Lone Wolf East and West are still open, even though the store has closed.
Hell's Survivors field is still up and running
The Bunker in Flint is an indor reball field

And thats all I know of. Any Michigan players know of any more in the area?

[quik]

Atomix is going out of business? Why?

[paullus99]

Well, the industry is hitting a pretty large plateau right now - insurance rates for fields are through the roof, profit margins are down (since stores are now having to compete with direct to consumer internet businesses), and total # of players have either topped out or actually fallen over the past couple of years.

[shartley]

I have seen fields and stores come and go all along. I just think that since now there are so many it is more visible. I have a saying about paintball shops in my town….. I give them a year.

I think the biggest problem with paintball fields and shops is that folks think it will be easy money no matter what anyone tells them. Paintball is a HARD business not an easy one. And most businesses fail, it appears to be an even higher percentage in paintball.

[Cow hunter]

i agree with just about everyone, i too am noticing the hard times coming about stores and fields...... the price of everything is already climbing at my local price gouging store. the cost of a case field paint at my closest field is $100, and the place is always packed....... althought the best business ive seen is the field i most often go to, the owner has told me that since he owns the land, and all the staff are close friends or family, hes still making money. enough to open a huge indoor field.....

[grEnAlEins]

I am at Ferris State U, and there is no decent place within an hour. But I can say with confidence that BBT and Factory PB will not be closing anytime soon, which is good. BBT is the store I most often visit and I am gonna start playing Factory more, especially this summer because I know if I'll be working. Last summer I only played twice, because I was working about 50hrs on average, sometimes close to 60.

[muskratjim]

i heard that atomix's owner is getting divorced and the wife wanted half

[StygShore]

No need to start the rumor mill on why places are closing...

The posted on their forums back in the end of December they were going to stay open as long as they could if people kept coming out

Basically... lack of people coming out to play. is what is killing a lot of places.

I did get a response back from PBX that they took over the Futureball Indoor in Livonia for any Michigan players looking for them.

A lot of fields just dont gett he advertisement they need. The Bunker in Flint has been there a while, they are 30 minutes from me, and I had no idea until I stumbled accross it ona site talkign abotu Reball.

Maybe we should get some state stickies going in the Meet and Greet section to just list paintball fields in their respective areas so people know where they can go play?


Styg

[Lohman446]

I am at Ferris State U, and there is no decent place within an hour. But I can say with confidence that BBT and Factory PB will not be closing anytime soon, which is good. BBT is the store I most often visit and I am gonna start playing Factory more, especially this summer because I know if I'll be working. Last summer I only played twice, because I was working about 50hrs on average, sometimes close to 60.

Fremonts not that far from you is it? You have Colors there (indoor now), there is a field in Mount Pleasant, as well as one in Manistee

[Ace12GA]

In Canada I have not seen many fields going down, but I have seen a recent increase in the number of indoor speedball fields popping up. I visited a new one this week to check it out, and was shocked by the prices in their pro shop. A 12oz CO2 bottle, without valve, for $35. Then another $35 for a pin valve. They had an old 68 classic on the shelf, no barrel, no ASA, no air fittings. Just a PF stainless body, valve, and carbon fiber single trigger frame. They wanted $250 for the damn thing. I am used to paying $50 for a mag like that. $60 for a bag of 500 field paint. Now there is a place I won't play at, ever. Its a shame too, because it looks like a nice indoor field.

[Aslan]

Any of you experiencing a lot of field and store closures?

In SE Michigan the following Paintball Facilities are now closed or going out of business.

Battleground's Paintball ( Like 15 years in business )
Hyper Sports
Lonewolf Store in Utica
Atomix Paintball Field ( 3 years in business )
The Plex (PBX) ( only lasted a couple of months )
UPC Indoor
Splattball City
Ace Paintball
P and P Paintball

These are still open -

Lone Wolf East and West are still open, even though the store has closed.
Hell's Survivors field is still up and running
The Bunker in Flint is an indor reball field

And thats all I know of. Any Michigan players know of any more in the area?

I know the indoor place in Pontiac closed some time back. And I heard another indoor went down last year, somewhere in Sterling Heights.

I'm not surprised about P and P. I went to that sore alot because they are close by but the staff is disinterested and the stuff is very overpriced. I don't mind supporting the local stores...especially if they're associated with a field I like...but when the prices are literally DOUBLE what they are on the internet...it just doesn't make any sense. Same with markers...you can get a used mag for $60, a used mech cocker for $50, and a upgraded RT for $250 or less. But when you go to stores you see very few guns selling under $400. I understand why the prices will be higher (rent, employees, etc...), but consumers can't just "donate" that money without some return.

As for fields, go to pbreview and look up fields near you...you'd be surprised! I have 8 outdoor fields within 40 miles of me...only one of which I ever played at...only 2 of which I ever heard of before. When you add indoor (which I don't play)...that number jumps to at least 12-15! And I'm not even including Hell Survivor's (where I usually play) because it's just over the 40 mile radius. The fields are there...they just need better advertisement. One field close to you that you didn't mention is RJ performance in Davison. I've never been there, but it's website looks like it's pretty cool and affordable.

I'm not worried...yet. If Hell Survivors goes under...then I'll worry...because that's a well known field that get's interstate draws and hosts huge events. But if Lonewolf West closes...it wouldn't be too surprising. I'm going to check out Lonewolf West this spring (of course their wesite is garbage and they still don't have upcoming events for 2006 up)...I've heard it's nicer than Lonewolf East...but I've also heard they have trouble getting many players. We'll see.

[ahellers]

i live in the sault and there is not a field in MI at least an hour from me. but there are two crappy fields in Canada like 20min from me. but who likes shooting canadians? :D
anyway someone was telling me that a friend was planning to build a speed ball field between here and the MAC bridge.
t

[Aslan]

Oakland Yard Athletics Waterford
Atomix Paintball Walled Lake (you say closed)
Black Rose Oxford
PBX Paintball @ The Plex Sterling Heights (closed)
Killer Paintball Northville
Lone Wolf East Paintball Mount Clemens
Futureball Paintball (Indoor) Livonia
Mad Frog Paintball Eastpointe
Lone Wolf West Paintball Metamora
Ultimate Paintball Challenge Harrison Twp. (you say closed)
No Limits Extreme Action Park Taylor
Futureball Paintball (Outdoor) Whitmore Lake
RJ Performance Davison
The Bunker Flint
Pirates Park Paintball Flint
Hell Survivors Pinckney

These are additional ones within 60 miles:

Crossfire Creek Paintball St. Clair
RIP Radical Impact Paintball Owosso
Panek Attack Paintball Frankenmuth
Predator Paintball Laingsburg

I'm not sure which ones are closed...pbreview just lists ones that have been reviewed...I know that PBX closed because it closed like a week before I was going to go there and check it out. :cry:

[Aslan]

There are also two in Canada within 60 miles of you:

Diehard Paintball Cottam, ON

and

Paintball Wilderness Belle River, ON

I might check out Diehard later this year...both fields look affordable not to mention the exchange rate. :clap: :cheers:

[ahellers]

There are also two in Canada within 60 miles of you:

Diehard Paintball Cottam, ON

and

Paintball Wilderness Belle River, ON

I might check out Diehard later this year...both fields look affordable not to mention the exchange rate. :clap: :cheers:

really! have any idea if theyre any good. im kind of afraid to go to canada, i alwas forget to look at the other numbers on my speedometer.

[Aslan]

really! have any idea if theyre any good. im kind of afraid to go to canada, i alwas forget to look at the other numbers on my speedometer.

Umm...you'd have a bit of a drive!

I know nothing about them except that they are outdoor :clap: they are BYOP :clap: :dance: and they are less than 38 miles from my house. I do want to check out Diehard before the end of this coming season...we'll see how it goes. :argh:

[StygShore]

I work/play at Lone Wolf west.

You are right, its been rough getting anyone out to the fields, even with LW West vacinity to Lapeer, Flint and Lake Orion/Oxford area, we still dont see a lot of regular players. We actually picked up a lot at the end of last year over normal, and it was really nice to see the people turning out to play again. I really hope that carries over to this season as well.

LW West wont close for a while I dont think, as long as people come out and we can keep renting the propery, and some big developer doesnt buy out the bar and all the land for houses or condos out there - seems to be the fate of many a large chunk of land anywhere near Oakland County.

I would like to see some updates to the West field, and a airball field go in. There is always plans, but they always seem to fall through when the season starts with low turnout, or real world events ( real life jobs and bills ) happen.

For people worried about cost, Lone Wolf fields both offer an early season opportunity to customers that come out for a day and help us clean up the trenches, stack fallen trees and limbs, refill and pack sandbags, etc to get the field back in shape for the new season. Those that come out get a membership pass that does save you a bit on paint, air, and no field fee when you play.

The biggest hit has really been that we dont have "regular" players anymore. The guys that are there every weekend that teach the newbs how to play, know the fields so they can help the refs out in getting the games going, things like that. We do alwasy seem to get that one "tournament" guy every so often that just mows people all day and kills the fun for the new players. This is the player that gets ticked off when we ask them to tone it down a touch to make it more fun for everyone. I think that lack of regular players is what is hurting a lot of fields. The players now show up when they can get a group of 6 or more to come out on special occasions, or once or twice a season, and then we dont see them anymore.


Styg

[Aslan]

I work/play at Lone Wolf west.

For people worried about cost, Lone Wolf fields both offer an early season opportunity to customers that come out for a day and help us clean up the trenches, stack fallen trees and limbs, refill and pack sandbags, etc to get the field back in shape for the new season. Those that come out get a membership pass that does save you a bit on paint, air, and no field fee when you play.

Actually I think the cost is very reasonable as long as it's BYOP. I'll never play there on a non-BYOP day, the paint is just too expensive to justify playing there (East or West). But heh...PM me, I and possibly a friend might be interested in taking you up on that deal of helping with getting the field ready. If it can save me money on air fills and field fees...then that will be enough to make me consider it...



The biggest hit has really been that we dont have "regular" players anymore. The guys that are there every weekend that teach the newbs how to play, know the fields so they can help the refs out in getting the games going, things like that. We do alwasy seem to get that one "tournament" guy every so often that just mows people all day and kills the fun for the new players. This is the player that gets ticked off when we ask them to tone it down a touch to make it more fun for everyone. I think that lack of regular players is what is hurting a lot of fields. The players now show up when they can get a group of 6 or more to come out on special occasions, or once or twice a season, and then we dont see them anymore.
Styg

Wow...that is EXACTLY what I saw the one time I went last summer (East). It was 96% newbs...most never fired a marker before. They all screamed and hid behind the starting bunker and wouldn't move. I tried to talk them into moving and one of them offered me his gun to use (mine was being a pain and I was behind the bunker trying to fix it (damn non-Mag!) And that day you got two "tournament guys" who made it terrible for the newbs and everyone else as they showed up with waaay upped markers and were just destroying everyone. The refs didn't bother splitting them up until the last game which was rediculous. Not to mention they were shooting hot and the refs never even bothered to check. I only knew because I was standing there when the guy went up to the chrono and it shot like 312fps, he turned it down to like 305 and said, "good enough." It's too bad that guys who already have an advantage over their competition have to risk safety just to get a little more of an advantage. :nono: I won't write a review of the East field...you can read that at PBReview if you're interested...but I will just say I wasn't overly impressed...but it was affordable and close enough that I'd go back. And like I said, I'm going to go out to Lone Wolf West this spring (when is the opening weekend!??? Tell them to update the dang website!) because I've heard good things about that field layout. :shooting:

Regulars are tough to get because of the cost. Even Hell Survivors doesn't seem to have "regulars"...just that their field seems to be popular enough that they can draw decent crowds every Saturday/Sunday with decent weather. Haivng you airball field in the East helps...not alot of "regulars" play woodsball/rec ball...they seem to be younger, airball players that play every weekend or every other weekend.

[cpt]

Let's face it, I'm surprised how popular paintball is. We have an indoor place close by that is $20 for a marker, mask, 9oz and 240 paintballs. That's pretty decent. But when you guys like us with our own equppment and you shoot a case of paint you are looking at $75 at a field only paint place. That's an expensive day. And when my son use to go, $150. Play speedball for 3 hours, ouch. And I'm not knocking the owners one bit. I used to have a business, (not paintball) and with insurance, theft, bounced checks, payroll, rent, gas, and you need to make a living I never complain to an owner. If I don't like it I take my business elsewhere. And I'm the guy driving them out of business. Most places around here are $10/15 admission and I have my own air and buy $30 paint. But if I want to play I can't if it is $75 everytime I go.

[peewee]

We have had a small expansion of "fields" in my area, over the last year or two. A couple of the fields are only open one weekend a month & usually get a large crowd of woods/rec ballers. Main local field is indoor with outdoor speedball & seems to do well. The stores in the area maintain a decent level of business with two new stores ( local chain stores) in the last three years.

[Pyroboy597]

Here in South Jersey things seem to be going better than they used to. My local stores are now getting more business than they have in the last 5 years, and the local fields are always busy. Then again, my closest store is OTS (On Target Sports) which is the one mentioned in GHTP and GHTP: Max'd. It also helps that R7 is based in the other half of the building my store is located in, and Hastings himself lives 5 minutes from my house.

:ninja:

[Aslan]

Let's face it, I'm surprised how popular paintball is. We have an indoor place close by that is $20 for a marker, mask, 9oz and 240 paintballs. That's pretty decent. But when you guys like us with our own equppment and you shoot a case of paint you are looking at $75 at a field only paint place. That's an expensive day. And when my son use to go, $150. Play speedball for 3 hours, ouch. And I'm not knocking the owners one bit. I used to have a business, (not paintball) and with insurance, theft, bounced checks, payroll, rent, gas, and you need to make a living I never complain to an owner. If I don't like it I take my business elsewhere. And I'm the guy driving them out of business. Most places around here are $10/15 admission and I have my own air and buy $30 paint. But if I want to play I can't if it is $75 everytime I go.

Couldn't have said it better myself. It ain't that I don't appreciate the owners or their shops...it's just that by the time I drive there, buy lunch and some gatorade, pay the entrance fee...and then on top of that pay $90 for a case of paint...then add a couple tanks of HPA...just can't do it. Now, I've paid $60...and I can swing that...but that was $20 all day with free air. And the kicker is that as guns fire faster and faster...it gets worse. I could pull out the Trracer...and that's fun sometimes. But if you get pinned down in a firefight and have 2-3 A-5s shooting at you...ya better hope at least 2 of the 3 of their guns jam... :shooting: :shooting: ...or its all over. :eek: Even BYOP is starting to be a pain because even if you find a nice $30 case of paint online...it's another $15 to ship it....then usually you pay a $10-$15 BYOP fee. Oh well...things are still affordable for me to play now...outdoor...all I can hope is that they don't raise prices faster than I can get raises!

[Loco_AEXY]

I seem to be pretty lucky, having 3 stores within about 5 miles of my house, and another one about 10 miles away, so I can't complain about a lack of stores. But as for fields the biggest thing I have noticed is that StypShore said about a lack of the regulars or the "old timers". I remeber years ago if I showed up to a field there were always those guys that appeared to never leave, adn were always more than willing to help the younger players out, give them pointers, and they didn't feel the need to play their best and mow down a bunch of new guys just to make themselves feel better. Now I go back to some of those fields and it seems to either be first or second time players hiding in back or really experienced players not even giving them a chance.

Oh well, that is why I have stuck mainly to private parties with my friends lately... I like the casual pace and the more fun atmosphere. Then again, I am getting old...don't move as fast out there as I did 10 years ago! :D

Oh, and as for the Lone Wolf Store in Utica, I beleive they simply moved to like 21 mile and Gratiot (at least I think that was the intersetion). I stopped in there to pick up a last minute Xmas gift and asked why the store was empty, and they handed me a flyer saying they were moving...I'll see if I can find it...

[LudavicoSoldier]

There are also two in Canada within 60 miles of you:

Diehard Paintball Cottam, ON

and

Paintball Wilderness Belle River, ON

I might check out Diehard later this year...both fields look affordable not to mention the exchange rate. :clap: :cheers:

There is also The Niagra Tactical Adventure in Vineland Station, ON, right on the QEW.