County owned paintball land...

[punkncat]

There is a new field about to be opened here in town. Its going to be on existing park land owned by the town/county . It will be run by a private entity who will pay for use of the property. This is currently open to proposals. As of now I am unsure of the guideline that will govern use of the field as in game rules etc. It will be run like any privately owned field as far as supervised, pay to play fields.

The mere rumor of this proposed field has caused a rift in the local players, field, and store owners. Its like everyone is jumping on a side either for or against government involvement in paintball. Many local field owners feel like its unfair, local store owners excited, more distant store owners worried, players shuffling to be "in alliance" with those they feel have a chance to run the new venture.... This whole situation has caused the local scene to buzz with energy for and against.

I know in Florida I have heard of similar situations. Do any AO'ers live near or are involved in this type of thing and can tell about how its worked out?

I am of the hope that it will just turn out to be good for everyone. A field with that exposure is sure to bring in more players. I would like to see the players wish to grow and explore all the local venues. If its good for paintball I am all for it.

[Lohman446]

There is a new field about to be opened here in town. Its going to be on existing park land owned by the town/county . It will be run by a private entity who will pay for use of the property. This is currently open to proposals. As of now I am unsure of the guideline that will govern use of the field as in game rules etc. It will be run like any privately owned field as far as supervised, pay to play fields.

The mere rumor of this proposed field has caused a rift in the local players, field, and store owners. Its like everyone is jumping on a side either for or against government involvement in paintball. Many local field owners feel like its unfair, local store owners excited, more distant store owners worried, players shuffling to be "in alliance" with those they feel have a chance to run the new venture.... This whole situation has caused the local scene to buzz with energy for and against.

I know in Florida I have heard of similar situations. Do any AO'ers live near or are involved in this type of thing and can tell about how its worked out?

I am of the hope that it will just turn out to be good for everyone. A field with that exposure is sure to bring in more players. I would like to see the players wish to grow and explore all the local venues. If its good for paintball I am all for it.

So, rather then renting the land from a private individual, or buying it themselves, the people who run this are simply going to pay rent to the county? If that is the case I would assume it will be like the opening of any new competition in town.

[FSU_Paintball]

Yeah, agreed. Why would concerns be any different than that of any normal field opening?

[RusskiX]

Yeah, agreed. Why would concerns be any different than that of any normal field opening?

My assumption is that the public land rent may possibly be subsidized by the goverment, providing an unfair advantage to the new owner...

More details needed...

[Mind'sEye]

Sounds like a potential win-win stituation. The vendor gets a reasonable lease which will not be as subject to the financial whims of a landlord and the county expands it's recreational offering while taking money into it's treasury. If the bidding for the spot was open to all vendors then you can't really say it's "unfair". I would take it as a favorable sign that the county recognizes paintball as legitimate recreation. This is the kind of dialogue and interaction that should be encouraged between paintballers and government agencies. :)

[paullus99]

I doubt the county would be subsidizing the lease - that could result in a lawsuit (though it sounds like there may be one anyway, or several). Unfortunate.....here in MD, where land is very, very expensive, fields are always in danger of being snapped up by developers - luckily, our home field in on what would be considered "wet-lands" and can't be built on anyway.

[nastymag]

Around the Bay Area

Norcal Paintball Park is on the Sonoma County Fairgrounds (owned by the state)

they pay normal rent, its not really cheap or very expensive.

i know of other fields that are also on government land, they dont seem to be any diffirent from other fields.

[peewee]

We had a field on county property & they were not subsidized by any means, & after a year the county raised the rent it was steep to begin with so sadly they stopped running the field. County business management like land rental isn't there to loose money.

[punkncat]

This is the first venture of its "exact" kind. The bidding process is over and was won by the shop that I play out of. Its a pretty nice deal. The town is running this under the parks dept. Much of the field and equipment will be maintained and supplied by them. The management will be run by the private entity for the intrest of previous experiance, and I would assume for liability issues among other things.

The netting is already up and a 1000 Sq ft proshop is on the way, ground broken yesterday. There will be a total of 6 fields when completed, including air, x, and hyperball. There is also some talk of woodsball and or a "village" field.

This is being put on what was a softball field, so there is stadium lighting and other amenities already on site, like bathrooms and I think even a concession stand. Games will supposedly be run until 11PM on summer weekends. There is also talk of team practices or private games during weeknights under the lights as well.

As it stands right now the field will be fully insured to allow PSP legal ramping and bunkering. The plan is to offer different levels of play going at all times. That way there will be a game available for every level of commitment from the rec baller, noob, or tourney veteran. I am going to be the Head Ref for the field so I am pretty stoked.....

Preliminary opening date is scheduled for sometime in April. I will get better details posted as soon as they are available.

[Mind'sEye]

That's local government, private enterprise and citizens working together at it's best. No wonder other field owners aren't so happy. This setup sounds like it could be the ideal public paintball venue.

[peewee]

Sounds good,

[p8ntball72]

This sounds great, But leaves me with a few questions.

"As it stands right now the field will be fully insured to allow PSP legal ramping and bunkering. The plan is to offer different levels of play going at all times. That way there will be a game available for every level of commitment from the rec baller, noob, or tourney veteran. I am going to be the Head Ref for the field so I am pretty stoked.....

This is interesting,
What Insurance that is "paintball" specific allows such play?
I have heard wild rumors that Lloyd's of London insures events but have never found any info to back up the claim.

I would imagine that your new field would fall under "parks and rec" insurance. In that case its a broad policy that is not "sport specific" and a small chance that they might not condone "tourney" style play. No harm i guess, paintball threw its safety concerns out the window a few years ago.

State concessions are strange..
1. if the concessionaire makes to much money the state will want more.
2. County officials such as the sheriffs department are allowed to make new rules concerning the property as they would see fit.
3. If customers are not careful the county could close a thriving business in a heart beat.

Hope all goes well for your new field... it will be an uphill battle

[punkncat]

This sounds great, But leaves me with a few questions.

"As it stands right now the field will be fully insured to allow PSP legal ramping and bunkering. The plan is to offer different levels of play going at all times. That way there will be a game available for every level of commitment from the rec baller, noob, or tourney veteran. I am going to be the Head Ref for the field so I am pretty stoked.....

This is interesting,
What Insurance that is "paintball" specific allows such play?
I have heard wild rumors that Lloyd's of London insures events but have never found any info to back up the claim.

I would imagine that your new field would fall under "parks and rec" insurance. In that case its a broad policy that is not "sport specific" and a small chance that they might not condone "tourney" style play. No harm i guess, paintball threw its safety concerns out the window a few years ago.

State concessions are strange..
1. if the concessionaire makes to much money the state will want more.
2. County officials such as the sheriffs department are allowed to make new rules concerning the property as they would see fit.
3. If customers are not careful the county could close a thriving business in a heart beat.

Hope all goes well for your new field... it will be an uphill battle

I really wish I knew the answer to your questions. There are going to be some interesting points to be hammered out.

[BeaverEater]

I doubt the county would be subsidizing the lease - that could result in a lawsuit (though it sounds like there may be one anyway, or several). Unfortunate.....here in MD, where land is very, very expensive, fields are always in danger of being snapped up by developers - luckily, our home field in on what would be considered "wet-lands" and can't be built on anyway.

good luck on fighting a government subsidy. Pretty much all the other fields and stores can do about it is whine, but i doubt the gov with do such a thing.