Paintball venue

[blackbeard]

My house sits on 31 forested acres and I have been approached by some aquaintances about possible use of my property for paintball wars. They also suggested I rent out my property as a paintball venue for the general public as well, because there is a lack of of available places for this locally.

I'm pondering this, but wonder if insurance would be a stumbling block. This land is somewhat rural - no immediate neighbors - and the property boundaries are well- marked. The paint they would use would be biodegradable and wouldn't leave my trees/rocks marked up. I need to double check, but I'm told $50/hr. is the going rate for a place about 30 miles away that just has a 2 acre with a few man-made hiding spots in a field.

Any opinions on the viability of this idea would be appreciated - I'm probably overlooking something in this initial thought process.

Matt

[ntarifi dubai]

You will definitly need liability insurance. I'm not sure what that runs.

Also, if you are going to do this you should probably do what most paintball places do - buy the paint and re-sell it to people. Also, make it mandatory to use your paint. This is 100% normal for paintball venues.

You also might want to drop a $1000 or so and buy a few guns that can be rented out. Make sure you buy all the same model and a couple gasket repair kits so you can have them up and running.

Dang - I miss playing paintball. I had to give it up due to other priorities.

[peter_slp]

Field Paint is a MUST! 90% of owners make their money not from the field usage, but the paint. You can read a bunch of different threads talking about the general process on www.pbnation.com there is a section for field/store owners.

I would suggest renting out something along the lines of Tippmann 98 customs as they are robust and can take one hell of a beating. I think the starting number was about 50. You will need to have a High Pressure Air stand, either you serve or have it self serve, but that will also help with profit.

CO2 is generally left up to the field owners as I've been to many that allow and others that don't. I hope that you don't mind different colors on your scenery because even bio paint doesn't wash away that fast/easy.

Would you be open to weekends, have a pro shop, or allow teams to practice on your field at discounted rates? Just some things to be thinking about.

I guess since you have no immediate neighbors, the netting won't be a problem. Ah, and speedball (inflatables) or woodsball?

Good luck!

[ntarifi dubai]

I'll second the Tippman 98's - they're a heck of a marker. You can pretty much fill them with muck and paint and they still work.

Also, keep in mind that you will also probably want to rent the following to people (masks are, of course, mandatory):

-Masks
-Gloves
-Chest plates (for the wussies)

I'd also suggest you have the tool that measures the feet/second that paintballs are traveling - there are general guidelines for what is considered "safe" - none of them allow balls that go above 300 feet/second.

On a moderately related note - also suggest people wear a "cup".

I got shot once from short range right there - and it drew blood. I ended up going to the doctor, urologist, etc - and let me tell you....besides the humiliation it was the most pain I've ever felt in my life.

[blackbeard]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The pbnation forum has tons of info. After more research I'm still debating whether to go with this idea, but at least now I have a grasp of what needs to be done. Thanks again