Wow ,people really hate my idea of having a paintball field

[Nitroduck]

Ok , as some know I've been in the process of starting a massive field in my state ( ohio ) I've been going at this for more than a year trying to find land. In september we found land really close to our state capital which doesn't have many fields. I've been spending the past 3 months tryin to get financed ,all that good stuff and everything was great.......untill....... Last night , we had a meeting with the local trustees to talk about me applying for a special use permit to try and play paintball on this property that i'm in process of buying.

I showed up to this little town hall ,there were a ton of cars there , much more than usual. Went in and saw a bunch of people there that i didn't know. Meeting started , and a group started asking me real general questions about having a paintball field there.......after a while , it started getting REALLY ugly. They started saying that paintball would cause the land to be damaged severely becuase they believe that paintballs stain all trees ,and if we ever left the property , it would be perminately scared. Then they told me that some girl was taken to a pb field ( that i never have even heard of ) was taken there and raped and assumed that the same thing would happen on my property. As far as i know , this thing happned a LONG time ago , and as far as i know it was a renegade field. They told me that it happned cuz people knew the land well and that emabled em to commit the crime. Then they told me that the paintballs flew more than 300 feet and would hit thier property ( even with netting). It all was a fairly miserable expirance. They keep tellin me that the people who play are pretty much evil and will tresspass on others property. Yada yada yada.....thankfully the zoning counsul told me to come back in 2-3 weeks to get it rezoned and go through that. So now i'm getting ahold of everyone I know that has influence to write me letters on how paintball has made a positive impact in thier lives and others.

What a expirance........... Paintball really needs a better image.

[edweird]

Wow... I wish I was there to help ya out. My ability to banter well with the ill informed always comes in handy when im against grassroots ignorant soccermoms.

I wish ya luck with this.

[Branchvillian]

If anything, a safe field would cut down on renegade games.

[Nitroduck]

I haven't got any soccer moms its. The " my son has a paintball gun , and becuase of that i know more than you" They lagued at me when i told them that the max range of a pball was 100 yards.

[quik]

Yeah, we went through the exact same things when we tried applying for land to build a skatepark, but thankfully they didnt listen to the idiot people and granted the land based on fact's that we had. Hopefully your town will look at the facts and not the rumors the people spread.


Good luck pal.

[TheTramp]

I think a good idea would be to write down every issue they brought up you can remember (also any others you can think up). Then take some time to write a detailed sophisticated rebuttal/answer to each. That way when you go back you will have good strong answers and they will have a hard time suprising you with tough questions.

Perhaps some paintball gun manuels and other documentation to show the range ect.

[Sir_Brass]

As long as they still feel they'll still retain solid political support even if they let you do this, the politicians will listen to your facts. If things turn real ugly and the soccer moms start making political undertones about wanting a city council that will disallow paintball, then you're pretty much screwed, b/c the council will cover their rears and not allow you your field.

If you can muster political backing, then you can get through with the facts. But you have to harness that power so they won't be worried about covering their political behinds.

[robdamanii]

It's useless to argue with people like this.

I did this in my town...and I realized this:
Idiots will always win; they'll drag your down to their level and beat you with experience.

[Maffer]

o.0 MAN!!!
PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!
Don't listen to the heretics!!! They are uneducated HICKS!!!
I live in Ohio, and I would LOVE to play at your field, and I spend lots of money there.
I recognize your plight though. There are far too few quality fields in Ohio, the only one I know of currently is i70, and that is way too small.
Please keep us updated, I know a LOT of people who would love to sign a petition. As for the issues brought against you, these people have no idea the awesome people there are who play paintball... sure, there are rogues in every sport. Look at OJ Simpson. The fact that there 'might' have been a rape on a field has NO bearing over your right to try and start a field. Confront them. Ask them if they are calling YOU a rapist. I'm sure there that you can find a way around this!
Don't give up! We need you Duck man!

[Barfly]

yeah sorry to hear about the trouble with getting your field. I didn't know there were communists in Ohio.

[deathstalker]

You can easily put the burden of proof on them. Ask them how many rapes occur in apartments, condos, and houses! The fact that a paintball field was present was irrelevant. It probably would have been a good area to commit a crime if a field was not present.

You can PROVE the maximum range of a paintball (we're not even talking effective range here). They won't be able to dispute it. You can get information from major paint manufacturers to PROVE that the fills are non-toxic and biodegradeable. Do you have any CPPA players near you? I'm sure they would be more than happy to speak on your behalf as to the evil, vile players who make up the paintball community.

[Maffer]

Talk to other paintball field owners, like Tim at i70. Ask if they have had any similar experiences, and how they handled them. And yes Barfly, there is a Communist group in my highschool it's a joke party, but still...
Anyway, deathstalker is on to something. You should get permission to go on a field trip with those people, and crank up the velocity and find a way to measure the distance... like a football field or soccer field or something. Then you could ask if one of them wants shot, as a demonstration, of course
Or if you like, I'd gladly allow you to unload a hopper full onto me personally! We support you all the way man.

[shartley]

Sorry to hear you are having problems. Paintball is strong in NH. The only thing that I can think of that would prevent a field here is simple zoning issues.

[OfficerGoat]

I think you can do two things to support your cause.

1) Make sure folks understand that kids are going to play... if not on your feild then outlaw. Bad things happen on outlaw feilds because there is no responsible party. Make sure they understand that Safty is the number one priority and that you are educating the folks that play on how to play safely and responsibly.

2) Buddy up with the local buisiness owners. If you really do have a nice feild its going to draw folks from out of town in to play. Restraunts and Gas stations are going to gain from this. No one turns down legitimate money. If they think its going to be good for buisiness they are going to back you. These are the folks who will truly sway the city council etc on this stuff.

[SuiciDal Sn Y p ER]

i know what you're going through. paintball has been BANNED from my town and some towns surrounding my town. I've called the non-emergency number and simply said "No paintball". they didnt even give a reason.

but our town didnt stop there. they went and banned all airguns and handguns. can you believe it?! it's illegal to own a handgun in this town! we are even on many stupidest laws website!