As a paintball field owner this is a huge question. Because tournament players are a revenue source and a consistent one when managed correctly. I just saw an article in the LA Times that headlined “Attendance is down and corporate sponsorship is drying up in NASCAR.” Gee sounds a lot like the PSP and the NPPL too. The main thing is not to panic, like I talked about in my other blogs ; people will always spend money for entertainment, this includes paintball.
I actually think what is happening is good for paintball because it forces people to change. I have been doing my part to help chance paintball for the better for the past 5 years and I will have some exciting news shortly. Wish I could give you all the details now but…. Well you will just have to tune in to my next blog and make sure you get on my mailing list. Go to www.moneypaintball.org and sign up now.
Well many people have been wondering what the NPPL or better yet how the NPPL is going to run things without Shawn Walker. Shawn and I started playing tournaments together back in the day of the Great Western Series. We played for Team Jester at the time and when Shawn went off to college I started my own tournament series. In the last 15 years I have been involed in every stage of paintball, from opening a field to a store to putting on events etc. Shawn and I share the same passion for paintball and when he graduated college he went to work for Dan Bonebrake and eventauly bought the XPSL from Dan. Then of course a few years ago Shawn sold the XPSL to Pacific Paintball and the bought the NPPL and had Shawn run the whole thing.
I’m not going throw any dirt around and say this guy did this and this guy did that but Shawn and the NPPL are no longer. So the players and the people in the industry that have been arround for any length of time are wondering what the NPPL will be like without paintball people running it. The answer is , I don’t know. What I do know is that 2009 will be very interesting indeed.
I’m a huge proponet for Pro Paintball and I think it’s a critical part of the sport, the challenge is the industry has out grown the current format of the game. My hopes are that the NPPL and the PSP will finally “ get back” togther so we can have a unifed format and then make improvements from there.
As always I’m taking action and working on ways to better the sport and grow the industry, our Money Turf, the only turf desgined for the sport of paintball has been holding up well for the last two years the NPPL has dragged it across the U.S. Now when people see paintball for the first time on Fox Sports they see a World Class playing surface. This puts credability into the minds of people as they say “ wow these guys are playing on real turf.” Our Money Paintball Charity has helped to open up 6 new fields this year arcoss the nation. I have other things in the works for 2009 so stay tuned…..
The daily question I’m getting asked is “ how is this economy going to affect paintball fields? In my opinion I think it will help! Why? Well I have been hearing that the doomsayers are saying we will be entering into the next great depression. If so look at what industries thrived back in the first great depression. Entertainment, boxing and movies were two of the biggest. The reality is people want to forget their problems, they want to escape. What better escape than paintball?
Here is the catch, your field better be clean and have great service if you want Mom ( who holds the power of the purse) to pay for her kids and husband to play paintball. If Mom is going to drop her little cubs off at your field she needs to FEEL safe and secure. A dirty run down field with tipped over port-o-potties won’t do it. One or two nice Money Turf fields with clean staff members to great her is a sure way to get Mom’s confidence and dollars.
If you want to just focus on the male demographic and don’t want to deal with Mom then make sure your field runs smooth and organized. If it takes forever to get to the next game or the reffs are terrible or it take 2 hours to get air because you don’t have a Money air compressor then most of your customers won’t be back. If they are going to pay to escape then you better take them away instead of frustrate them.
Feel free to call Money Paintball or e-mail us with any questions you may have: 1-866-999-6663 or evan@evanmoney.com
That is a great question. Here is my answer from 15 years of serving paintball field and paintball store owners. Paintball is now turning into a “ Real Business” , by that I mean you can’t just accidentally make money in paintball anymore. Similar to the .com craze in the early 2000’s or the recent real estate boom or even back to the Gold Rush there were “ magic times” to different industries where you can make a lot of money quickly and easily with a lot of margin for error.
Paintball differs because it was good for a long time. It grew steadily for 15 plus years. Once it went to the mass merchants like Wal-Mart etc. we really saw it grow but very few people realized that it would have to come to an end. It can only go so far. Paintball is not a sport everyone will play. You can’t just throw the ball around in the back yard so to speak.
However more people than ever want to play paintball. This is why a lot of fields are seeing more and more new players but not repeat customers. In the old days people would play and a big % would get hooked and be back. Now that ratio is thinning because the economy and other factors. However the fact remains there are millions and millions of people that want to play. We just need to reach them. A lot of people just need a good excuse to play. They have the money but everyone buys into the doom and gloom now so most people think before they spend now. They need a compelling reason to play.
Don’t believe me? Walk down any street in a major city and ask Do you know what paintball is? The answer 75% of the time will be “ Oh yea, it looks fun I have never played but I would like to, does it hurt? “ ask that question 15 years ago and people would say “ Huh?” Ask it 10 years ago and they would say “ oh yea it’s that war game”.
In the great depression the biggest boom industries were, Movies, boxing and gambling. Basically entertainment. People want to forget their problems and they would love to do it paintballing.
Ok now onto the store owner, I’ll keep it brief. You are not Wal-Mart, stop trying to be a big box store. You are not an internet site , so stop trying to be one. Specialize, specialize, specialize. Don’t sell the gun , fix the gun. You make more profit and it doesn’t take any inventory. Only sell High margin items. Quit trying to stock every color of every gun etc.. Take trade ins , offer to serve them. This is the store model that will survive.
I hope this helps, feel free to call the office so we can serve your needs. 866-999-6663 www.moneypaintball.org
This is an older article I did for Faceful magazine but it’s very relavant today. Starting or owning a paintball field means you get to deal with people. You get to see very interesting sides of people when you put them in competitive situations. As more and more paintball field owners put in turf ( we like Money Turf the best) and uprade their tournament fields, we see more and more of the competitive spirt. This spirit can be enraged when a bad call is made. So how do avoid all this? Read on for a few suggestions.
With the whole JOY DIVIDION Controversy going on in the NPPL I think it’s fitting to revisit the “daily topic” about tournament paintball reffing.
Please note if you follow the NBA, NFL , MLB or the NHL it really is the same story. From the game fixing issues in the NBA to the NFL’s use of instant replay which still doesn’t eliminate bad calls. As well as MLB’s umpire issues and even Hockeys inconsistent reffing. If your talking sports your always talking about the BAD CALLS.
The biggest challenge paintball faces is that the way the game is played now it is
“ IMPOSIBLE” to reff. If you know me you know I hate to use the word impossible but in this case it’s true.
The guns are too fast for the human eye, the action is too spread out there is no ball or puck to follow, the action can came from anywhere leaving even a good reff totally out of position.
In an ealier article I proposed a format solution called “ Moneyball” which basically forces the action around the flag and makes reffing much easier to do. But what about Xball , everyone knows the reffing is better in the PSP. I disagree, the format is better suited for reffing in the PSP. I.E. we know there are going to be bad calls but with the xball format you are only losing a point vs.a whole game in the NPPL. The NPPL has changed the number of games played and basically said hey, now you get more games to over come the bad calls.
So the question remains how do we eliminate the “ Bad calls” ? This is where I’m suppose to suggest the same stuff we have already heard, pay the reffs more, train them more, give them more rest and water, keep the same crews together bla,bla,bla.
The only way to reff an un-reffable game is to “change” wait that’s to strong of a word for a tournament player, how about “tweak”, let’s “ tweak” the format so even a half blind heat stoke afflicted reff could make the right call.
Here are some possible “ tweaks” that would make tournament paintball a better game to reff.
# 1. Head shots only. What if you were only eliminated by a head shot? Much easier for a reff to focus on one area only. A majority of the time it would be a goggle shot which is much easier to spot. Unless your Mike Paxson during a paintball video( inside joke).
Now before you e-mail me with 500 reasons why this is dumb your missing the point. Tournament paintball is broken, let’s try to fix it. Instead e-mail me with 500 ideas that you have to make it better. In fact I will URGE the editor to print the best ideas you come up with. E-mail your intelligent ideas to : evan.money@verizon.net I delete all profanity laced and derogatory e-mails FYI.
# 2. Smaller and less bunkers on the field. What if you made the bigger safer bunkers far and few between, which forced action in certain areas. Why give the back players a big safe place to hide , force to people to move farther off the breaks to the safer bunkers.
Ok so there are two ideas for “tweaks” now I put it in your hands to see what you can come up with.
Here is an article I did for Face Full magazine on the Paintball fields or paintball field of tomorrow. I think you will like it, this should really help if your looking to start a paintball field.
The next evolution of Paintball fields.
When I was approached by this magazines Legendary editor to do this article I almost fell out of my chair. This topic is something I discuss with my customers almost everyday. Allow me to explain:
For over 15 years I have been working with field owners, helping them start profitable and stay profitable. I have seen just about every type of paintball field you can imagine, most of them not very good.
You see ” back in the day” paintball wasn’t really a sport it was more of a thrill seeking experience like skydiving or bungee jumping. You were the talk of the office when people herd you went paintballing over the weekend.
Obviously a lot has changed and paintball pretty much is recognized around the world as a sport, thanks to the NPPL,PSP and Millennium series.
What is just beginning to change is the type of paintball fields being opened. The norm used to be a dirt road, tipped over port a potties and a wooden shack where you get your rental guns, buy snacks and even get first aid. The owner was typically someone you would find working on the cars in the back of an old service station.
Enter the next evolution of Paintball fields. The new paintball field owners of today have a ” DISNEYLAND ” mentality. They invision a ” CLEAN FACILITY” with different ” Themes” to their park to cater to everyone.
Imagine if you will walking down main street of Disneyland or in this case our Paintball “Theme park”. To the left you see ” Clean” rest room facilities, to the right you see a grass or synthetic ” MONEY TURF” playground with a jumper or other things for the kids to play on. Next to that you see picnic tables in the shade for Mom’s to gather and talk.
As you continue walking to the right you see a sectioned off area for tournament players only with stadium seating and fields covered with” MONEY TURF” ( used by the NPPL) and SUP AIR bunkers. As you look closely you see shaded staging areas for the players as well as a special entrance and there own bathroom facilities.
To your left you see some themed speed ball arenas for the casual players. The bunkers can be assorted shapes and colors with a more relaxed atmosphere catering to new players or private groups.
As you continue walking you enter the ” WOODSBALL ” arena where the fields are bigger and more creative. Castles, Towns, Old helicopters and army jeeps abound and the smell of adventure is in the air.
That’s right folks there are facilities being constructed like this as we speak. Of course we all want one in our town tomorrow but like anything it takes some time. Case in point the NPPL that just happened in Huntington Beach. It wasn’t that long ago that these events were played in the woods with Pro’s staging out of there cars! Now look how much it’s grown, but again it took some time.
Fields like Challenge Park,SC Village & Hollywood Sports were some of the innovators to this new evolution. But the next wave will be bigger, better and cleaner!
I have the privilege to work with www.apiratesparadise.net , this a combination Waterpark/Paintball park with 5 ” MONEYURF” fields and a stadium! If I told you how small the town is that it’s being built in you wouldn’t believe me so check it out for yourself.
Also on www.moneypaintball.org we have designed and packaged a turn key ” Theme PARK”, for a lot less money than you would think. Perhaps you, YES YOU reading this article are part of this evolution. The time is now, the market is ready. The Number #1 industries in slow economic times are always ” Entertainment” because people want to forget there problems.
Get ready, it won’t be long until this next evolution is upon us!
Evan Money is the President of Moneypaintball.org,Moneyturf.org and is committed to taking paintball to the next level.
As promised here is a flashback for you on how paintball used to be. When I started in this industry back in the early 1990’s I worked at a company called T.A.S.O. Which stood for “ The Adventure Supplier & Outfitter “. You see back then the only people that played were guys in there late 20’s to early 40’s. Guys who had $$$$$ and who wanted “ Adventure”. It cost major bucks back then to play. A few years before I got that job I paid $5 for a 10 round tube of paint back in 1990. It was at one the local fields here in Southern California. I remember seeing some 30 year old guys with a case of paint (2,000 rds ) and I thought they were Millionaires!
Anyway when I started working at T.A.S.O the Semi Auto revolution was in full swing. Automags and Autocockers ruled the paintball world. The rental gun of choice was the VM-68. This gun weight like 20 lbs. Not only couldn’t you play if you were under 18 you couldn’t even pick up the gun!
My desk was next to Glenn Forrester , you know the guy who makes the “Legend” Paintball Gun, the man who coached Dynasty to all their titles. He had a “ PRO” team back then called “ G.B.D.” The good the bad and the deadly. In those days there was the Ironmen and basically everyone else. Bob Long and Dave Youngblood both played on the Ironmen and it was just like golf is today, Tiger and everyone else.
Pro events were all held in the woods with zero spectators. If someone tried to watch they would be accused of cheating and be beaten up on site. It truly was an interesting time.
Ok, more fun on my next Blog. See you then.
My hopes for this blog is to help the folks that really do want to start a field but have no clue what to do. So let me get you threw some of the top FAQ’s that I’m asked almost daily.
#1. INSURANCE- ” I hear it’s really expensive” - The answer is no! It is dirt cheap , the average policy from our preferred agencies is about $150 a month! That’s $1 million in coverage too. Now I’m not going to bore you with details but the reality is Insurance is the smallest challenge.
#2. LOCATION( INDOOR) - “I found an abandoned Wal-Mart in my town….”- I get this one a lot, let me help you with the math. A typical ” box” store or Grocery store is approx 40,000 square feet or more. If the rent is $1.00 a sqf that’s $40,000 a month in rent. Plus you have to pay A/C, Heat lights, etc. After 15 years of working with Indoor field owners here is the magic number. Do not pay more than $10,000 a month rent.
The challenge with paintball is that you need ” room” to play, the more room the better! However you have to pay for that room. Try this example. If you have a 20 people playing on a 20,000 sqf field that costs you $10,000 a month or if you had the same 20 people on a 10,000 sqf that costs you $5,000 a month which would you prefer?
The size of the field is irrelevant! It’s the rent! This works the other way, there was a guy I was working with who was working on a 50,000 sqf building for $5,000 a month! This guy didn’t have the funds to use all 50,000 sqf. Who cares! He can always grow into the space or use it for parking, the price is the key!
So again Do not ask what size field should I get? Ask: How much is the rent!
The other key for indoor is LOCATION! I really want to stress this! 50,000 sqf. is great at $5,000 a month but if people can’t find you it’s useless! The big challenge with indoor space is that if you want a low rent you are typically where people can not see you from the road. This why most indoors go out of business! They get a building with too high of a rent and a bad location! You can overcome a bad location if your rent is super , super low but it’s much better to pay $8,000 a month for a building that 50,000 cars drive by everyday than $5,000 a month for a building no one can see.
#3. FINANCING “I want to finance $500,000 worth of land and equipment but I filed bankruptcy last month”- True story!!!!!!!!
If you do have a big dream and no credit its ok! Just face reality, NO BANK WILL LOAN YOU MONEY!
However other people will! There are all kinds of private investors out there! No I’m not talking about Venture Capitalists. I’m talking Angel investors or Private Investors. These are people with LOT’S of money and want to help a dreamer! I’m an ANGEL INVESTOR myself so believe me I know. I can not stand the bureaucracy of banks etc.. So when someone approached me about a business that was working and just need some more $$$$ I was in! However I do charge a very large interest rate, and so will other Angel investors.
These people are out there but you need to find them, it’s called networking. I’m not going to go into that whole process but you need to be willing to open your mouth and start talking to people. Also you don’ t try it for a week then quit and say I couldn’t find anyone! If you want it bad enough you can find the right investor.
Also when you do find a potential investor, have you stuff ready, do your research find out exactly what it will cost. Print out the packages from my website www.emoneypaintball.net find out what rent will be, figure out what you are going to change have a basic business plan. You don’t need a $5,000 business plan, a pen and a calculator works fine, here is an example:
Equipment: $60,000 Indoor Turn Key Package
Rent: $5,000 per month (Includes heat, a/c etc)
Employees: 2 part time $3,000 per month
Revenue: Open 5 days a week 20 players per day = 400 players per month. $55 per player = $22,000
This is really all you need in the beginning stages, a potential investor would look at this and be happy to take the next step with you.
Another Option for financing is our NO CREDIT CHECK INSTANT FINANCING! Call us for more details on this! 310-750-6218 or Toll FREE 1-866-999-MONEY
More on starting a field in my next Blog!
What compressor should you buy ? This is a great question, the answer is simple. Buy a compressor built for paintball and buy from people who know what they are doing. The BITTERNESS of poor quality lasts longer than the SWEETNESS of a low price.
Too many people get lured into ” a deal” on a compressor from someone who has no clue about compressors. Compressors are not like DVD players, you don’t just plug them in. The reason the compressor is such a deal is because IT’S THE WRONG COMPRESSOR!
99% of the time the compressor is to small. It also doesn’t have the options necessary to allow it to work for paintball. Buying a compressor is like buying a truck. Imagine if you called the company who sold you the computer you needed and you mentioned you needed a truck for your construction business to haul VERY HEAVY LOADS, say 5,000 lbs.
Your computer rep says ” Hey I have a deal for you, it’s got everything you need”. When the truck arrives it’s a 4 cylinder basic model tiny truck that can only haul 400 lbs. Not going to work.
It’s the same with Paintball Compressors, these units need to work very hard to fill at high pressures. Too many people think, oh I can just sell my customer this and it will work. NOT THE CASE!
The compressor itself is just the beginning, the accessories needed to make a complete paintball system are also critical. Most compressor companies that sell High Pressure Systems sell to Fire Stations and Scuba shops. They have NO CLUE as to what a paintball field operator needs. They just say oh yea, this will work, but they don’t understand what happens in paintball.
Running a paintball field is like running a restaurant, everyone gets hungry at the same time and everyone wants air at the same time. So you need a big enough compressor to keep up with the demand. You also need fill stations that work! Too many people have purchased high price fill stations that were not intended for paintball, not only did they pay too much but they don’t work on top of that!
So what size compressor should I get? What options do I need?
I will answer all these questions in the next Blog. For now make sure you have read Compressors 101, click here to read: http://emoneypaintball.net/product_info.php?products_id=79
Ok in this section we are going to cover everything about Turf and Paintball Turf. How it’s made, why the USA made turf is so much better. Indoor vs. Outdoor, why the N.P.P.L chose Money Turf. What the differance is with Paintball Turf vs. regular turf , how to clean it and much, much more.