Kids and adults alike love paintball. The high-energy sport is popular with individuals looking for a fun way to spend a weekend, as well as church, school and local groups looking for a safe, fun environment for their kids. Paintball parks can be indoors or out. Either way, the investment is hefty. Expect to need at least $200,000.
Instructions
1. Determine whether to open your paintball park indoors or out. A good paintball park will have plenty of barriers, which players can use to hide and stalk their opponents. If you live in an area with complicated terrain or woodsy areas and the weather is relatively consistent, an outdoor park may be best. If you battle extreme weather, consider moving your park indoors. Either way, you may need to create your own paintball obstacles, strategically placed for more stealth movement.
2. Contact your city official to obtain the necessary permits. At a minimum, you will need to provide proof of liability insurance. Visit Paintball-apl.com for information on purchasing paintball liability insurance. Your park may be subject to annual inspections.
3. Find a location for your paintball park that is easily accessible and offers plenty of parking. Some outdoor parks offer a handful of fields, but most usually have at least one scenario field and one speedball field. The scenario field, which is for traditional paintball, is characterized by complicated terrain, either man-made or natural. Speedball, which is played on a smaller, flatter field, uses inflatable bunkers and makes for a much shorter game. If you've got enough land, you can design a couple of scenario fields, each with a different atmosphere. Look for land with natural barriers and obstacles such as trees, hills, tall grass and streams for your scenario fields.
You'll also need room for a rental office, courtyard with barbecue pits, grills and picnic tables, repair room and a party room. Contact your zoning official to get approval.
4. Improve your fields by adding paintball obstacles such as old farm equipment or large tires. Another option is to purchase man-made obstacle packages. Bunker packages offered by Mighty Sports start at $1,300.
5. Enroll in a paintball training course such as the one offered by the Paintball Training Institute to learn what to include on your waivers, implement safety and repair your paintball guns.
6. Purchase an air supply system. Commercial CO2 packages start at about $3,500. Purchase paintball gear: goggles, clothing, paint balls, guns, netting, jerseys, masks and targets. All-inclusive, turn-key packages start at about $4,000. Contact snack suppliers or shop discount grocery stores to purchase snacks and beverages to stock your rental office.
7. Hire experienced paintball instructors and referees or enroll new hires in a paintball training course to get them certified.
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