Redesigning an indoor field......

[smokie1992]

Myself and others are in the process of redesigning the indoor section of our paintball field. Now indoor fields are not as common of a thing here so we're looking for advise that players would like in an indoor field. Remember we're not millionaires so if you've seen something you've liked before that can be built we would definitely appreciate the suggestions. Thanks everyone!

[nahthan]

a plywood rec field with a catwalk and fort is always nice if thats within your budget, so long as you keep it relatively clean, a couple speedball field do wonders and more specific, air ball and barrels.

Have a good time making the fields.

[smokie1992]

Only one reply? Indoor places can't be that uncommon. come on guys we need some help!

[Flakey Lemon]

Theres a 'sup air feild kit thing at www.pbgear.com I suggest you go for that.

[PeYToN-SS]

A 3-5 man Airball field is always very fun.

[Cuervo]

Airball.

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Get a good flooring.
Airball.
Don't have floor to cieling pillars every nine feet like my indoor feild.
Places to watch from.
Food.
Bathrooms.

[wanabe TOSA]

food is not needed but i would jus make sure u get some turf an airball to go along with some good lighting but if u cant make a full size feild and are forced to make a small cramped one then i wouldnt bother making an indoor unless u get alot of bad weather where ever u live

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Food may not be needed but it is a very good profit maker. Think about it. 20-30 caged beasts hungry by lunch time. Why go out when its right there? Plus I'm too lazy to walk for food or bring my own.

Also, water fountains and sinks.

[smokie1992]

We have a decent size indoor field, about 50' by 150'. What were basically doing is revamping the indoor field so it's ready for winter. the field is actually an old warehouse so unfortunately the I-beams are there but the good side is we do have indoor bathrooms and viewing areas. Our major goal this time is to have the field, in a sense, designed by the players. I know what I like but that doesn't say you'd like it to. Keep the suggestions coming guys!

[paintballer42o]

Airball.
or

You can go to a construction yard and ask around for some spools....but airball is the best.

Plywood is good too, though. It's really sturdy.

[xXniTemAreXx]

Airball, all you have to do is fill em up, tie sand bags to the ends of them, and set them into a cool pattern, and paint comes off easily.

[UTLadiesMan]

I've played in some old warehouses before, and my biggest pet peeve was the lighting. You could hardly see. I would take good, bright lighting over airball or turf. But if you have the cash, all three is nice too. :)

[wanabe TOSA]

ya but good lighting costs alot more than u prolly think

[FrOnTmAn4LiFe]

At the field I play at it's airball with a woodchip floor.It's awesome for sliding

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Originally posted by paintballer42o
You can go to a construction yard and ask around for some spools....but airball is the best. Spindles are the devil. I hate them with all of my body. I cannot express my hate for them in words. Please do not make a feild out of spindles. A couple is fine, but a whole feild of them is horrible.

[smokie1992]

Lighting was handled today.

[slushii]

Invest in nice airball field get netting and then your set.

[wanabe TOSA]

spools are teh devil

[smokie1992]

Thanks again for the ideas guys! We have thought of the air ball idea and thanks Flakey Lemon for the website. If anyone knows of a place to get decent or way to make airball bunkers that would be great. As it stands currently we're probably going to have to start with the plywood idea and work from there. Any other ideas for flooring? We had sawdust but that soaked up paint and is a hell of a mess to clean so we're removing that currently.

[PeYToN-SS]

Artificial Turf

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Something you can hose off, but make sure you have a good way to drain it.

[p8ntfreak98]

Dude rock it ghetto like SCI with carpet squares. Get a huge snow shovel, shovel it all into a corner, hose it down with a hose, let it dry over night and you've got yourself some cheap flooring.

[smokie1992]

Not sure I fully understand ya bud...... Shovel the carpet into a corner and soak it?

[p8ntfreak98]

NO no no no, shovel all the paint shells and crap, then soak the field.

[smokie1992]

OK, gotcha now. That's pretty much what we're doing just with the amount of crap on the floor and the size of the field we're planning on about another 3 or 4 Saturdays before that project is finished. WE're dealing with about 2 years of build up here!

[p8ntfreak98]

Holy hell. Us so cal boys aren't even that bad lol.

[smokie1992]

LOL! Under new management kinda thing. Two of the old owners have dropped out.

[wanabe TOSA]

i believe www.paintballsupply.com have airball but ya woodchips an carpet is a bad idea - everywhere around here have artificial grass or turf - its great for sliding an easy clean up

[smokie1992]

Just making sure that's all the suggestions we're going to get...... If so thanks everyone for the help!

[DirtMcgirt]

get turf for the floor

I cannot stress this enough. No concrete. No wood chips. TURF.

make sure you have a variety of bunkers as well, and don't clutter things too much.

[smokie1992]

One of my partners and I were just discussing the idea of some sandbag bunkers. Thoughts?

[DirtMcgirt]

that could get messy if one ever broke. i would also make it damn near impossible to rearrange the field.

stick to air bunkers.

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Yes, air bunkers and turf is the way to go.

If they have drains in the floor, you can just hose off the turf and let it drain out. Otherwise be prepared to spend a lot of time cleaning it.

[smokie1992]

We're currently in the process of creating drains right now. Turf and air bunkers are a luxury that's not really in the bank account as of right now, more of a wish list after the first couple of big groups. Currently the plan is plywood and tire bunkers properly put together. We've seen to many places that just slap things together and call it a bunker.

[KingThomasIV]

I used to play in an indoor field converted from an old supermarket, and I noticed some things for you to do and not to do.

First of all, DO NOT put the safety zone in the old meat locker. (I know that you do not have this problem, but for other future field owners, it might be.)

DO NOT make the floor out of sand. Others suggested turf. I also recommend this. Sand will get into the rental guns, making them not only lower-end guns, but broken-half-the-time-lower-end guns that will not entice newcomers to return. Also, the sand will soak up the paint, and within the year, the whole building will reek of mildew (not good if you want people to return.)

For a speedball field, you could get the plastic oil drums, and also mix in freestanding plywood walls that you could rearrange (like L shapes or triangular barricades that support themselves.)

Others have already suggested airball bunkers, but you stated you do not have the money for them.

If there is a separate room that you can make a field, design it differently than your main field. Diversity makes people more likely to return. For example: In this other indoor field, their main field was speedball, but a separate room was designed for a SWAT-Terrorist game. There were two entrances into this room that contained plywood houses (only walls) with doorways and windows. The defenders (Terrorists) had to stay behind a line drawn half-way through this room, and the attackers (SWAT) had to infiltrate the rooms and eliminate the defenders. (The SWAT team could cross that line.) I know that you do not have the money for all that extra plywood, (and I'm not sure you even have the room) but that is something to think about for the future.

Related to that last theme, occasionally players would agree to have the refs turn out the lights, turn on the fog machine, turn on the strobe lights, and turn the music up. (This field also had some speakers hooked up all over the place due to the intercom of the supermarket.) Paintball by strobe light is intense, and I don't think they are tremendously expensive, being that you could get away with around four for half of a supermarket area.

I hope my suggestions helped you a little, and that your field prospers. Good luck!

[smokie1992]

Thanks KingThomas! Great reply!

[UTLadiesMan]

There's another problem with concrete and carpet that I didn't see anyone else post. (could have just missed it though)

Both are really easy to slip on once some broken paint gets on it. Best case scenario if someone slips and hurts themselves, they don't come back. Worst case, they sue.

Sand works a little bit better, but as has been mentioned... smells TERRIBLE. Trust me, it's like opening a gym bag that's been sitting under the bench for months.

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

ON the contrary to UTL's post, I played on in an old factory type place with non-finished wood flooring. You can't slide, so if people try, they are in for a surprise.

[f2f4]

Yes, but he was talking about smooth concrete and short carpet...

Just a few things to consider:

Lighting - make it nice, even, and bright. Consider strobe lights and a fog machine(s), like King said.
Surface - Turf is recommended, but you said it was out of budget. After airball bunkers, turf is what you guys should save up for.
Bunkers - Airball would be best, but plywood, construction tubing ("hyperball"), plastic drums, and tires would make a good temporary solution. However, people LOVE airball (like me), so purchasing an airball field would greatly add to your field's repertoire. I would suggest saving up to get a nice airball field IMMEDIATELY.
Food - Nothing fancy, but some vending machines or some kind of food stand would bring in a LOT of extra revenue. Just a little tip.
Staging area - Have plenty of tables and chairs. If possible, have the staging area near the restrooms, pro shop, and a source of running water (multiple sinks would be a nice idea). Make sure there's ample trash cans, unless you feel like picking up litter. As for the bathrooms, try to keep them clean and smelling nice. People really love that. ;)
Safety - Have plenty of chronographs around, and use them often. Make sure the spectator area is well protected. ENFORCE THE RULES, especially for newer players. Wash / clean off the field during large gaps between games (such as lunchtime) as well as at the end of the day.


Hope I helped. :)

[snap shoot]

Originally posted by DirtMcgirt
get turf for the floor

I cannot stress this enough. No concrete. No wood chips. TURF.

make sure you have a variety of bunkers as well, and don't clutter things too much.

[KingThomasIV]

Originally posted by f2f4
Safety - Have plenty of chronographs around, and use them often. Make sure the spectator area is well protected. ENFORCE THE RULES, especially for newer players. Wash / clean off the field during large gaps between games (such as lunchtime) as well as at the end of the day.

There is also an easy way to make sure everyone chronos their gun: Set the chronograph up by the entrance onto the field and have a ref check everyone. You could line some netting so that just this area is a range that everyone must go through, between the safety zone and the field, to further safegaurd the place from possible lawsuits or just unecessary injuries.

Washing the field off after every day of play is a great idea, but I do not think it is neccessary to wash it off during lunch time because there is no blazing sun indoors to dry it off, and chances are that it will remain wet the rest of the day.

I also *looked at the keyboard and* found some other shapes for freestanding barricades, such as H's, U's, S's, T's, Z's, and E's. You could even combine a few W's to make a snake. I think I thought a little too long on letter-based shapes, so I'll leave the rest of the designing up to you. (Since they're freestanding, and hence, mobile, you could redesign the field every month, keeping a diagram of what you had and what players liked, so that you could revert to older styles every now and then. You don't want to bore players by having the same design every time they come, do you?) ;)

Once again, good luck! :D

[f2f4]

Originally posted by KingThomasIV
but I do not think it is neccessary to wash it off during lunch time because there is no blazing sun indoors to dry it off, and chances are that it will remain wet the rest of the day.Ah. Good point. :)

[smokie1992]

Latest update...... We have over half the field cleaned and have started to design one half of a mirrored field using everyone's input that we could. Between work and the field we're putting in 15 hour days but it's paintball so it's worth it right? lol! Once again I would like to pass on the thanks of myself and my partners for all the great help we've gotten from everyone.

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Originally posted by LAMANTEthePBguy
ON the contrary to UTL's post, I played on in an old factory type place with non-finished wood flooring. You can't slide, so if people try, they are in for a surprise.
Originally posted by f2f4
Yes, but he was talking about smooth concrete and short carpet... Main Entry: 1con·trary
Pronunciation: 'kän-"trer-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -trar·ies
1 : a fact or condition incompatible with another : OPPOSITE -- usually used with the
2 : one of a pair of opposites

- on the contrary : just the opposite

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=contrary&x=0&y=0

:eyes: ...........Schools these days are slipping

[UTLadiesMan]

What?

The fact is, concrete or short carpeting (like office carpet) as well as wood can get very slippery when wet. It doesn't matter if you can slide or not. (in fact with all three, it's harder than with grass) If you can slip while running, even just enough to lose your ballance, you can seriously hurt yourself. Grass and turf have a lot more give to them and will soak up the paint better, and even on the off chance that you did fall, you wouldn't be hurt as badly.

[ilovetacos]

yeah, just use like a mirror format, my local indoor arena doesnt do the mirror format, and it sucks, a lot of people like the mirror format. dont use carpet as the flooring either, it gets to slippery when all the paint gets in it. use like astro turf or something similar.

[smokie1992]

Last chance for input before I let the thread die off guys!:atten:

[UTLadiesMan]

How about... like mirrors all over the place, like a fun house!

Oh, oh, bunkers that move across the floor side to side!

Oh, oh, oh, one word: wind tunnel.




(okay, I'm done being stupid now. :P)

[f2f4]

Originally posted by UTLadiesMan
How about... like mirrors all over the place, like a fun house!Holy crap...that would be sweet...

Combine that with strobe lights and a fog machine...hmmm...

Oh, smokie1992, do post pics of the field if you can. :)

[smokie1992]

Absolutely love the wind tunnel idea!

[LAMANTEthePBguy]

Originally posted by UTLadiesMan
How about... like mirrors all over the place, like a fun house!

Oh, oh, bunkers that move across the floor side to side!

Oh, oh, oh, one word: wind tunnel.




(okay, I'm done being stupid now. :P) Mirrors would break and be a pain to clean:P .

[forumsk83r]

are you talking about .68 Caliber?

How is it going so far?

Can you post some pics?!

Fix your website, You need a new domain name.

There's gunna b like 40 people at ur field on friday (Northern Football Team) Watch out for TONS OF NEWBIES!!

[knuckhead09]

Haha, I hope he's from .68 caliber, cuz I'm going down there now to see if it is, and if its not, I'm going to look like an ***...

[forumsk83r]

lol same here.....if u still have the digital camera, wanna take pics?and post it here



OOO BTW THE ICECREAM MAN JUST WENT BY!!!!! w00t w00t

[knuckhead09]

Eh, I dunno, the batteries are almost dead in the camera. Ben's calling to see if they're even open to any business... But I'll take pics if I can...

[forumsk83r]

i have digital camera here, so if yours wont work, we can use mine

[AR55 MtM]

Buy insurance.
Invest in Airball (5-man airball fields are as low as $3000)
Also invest in AstroTurf.

[forumsk83r]

u keep makin them sound like they're cheap...

[AR55 MtM]

Because they are :rolleyes: . Plastic bags are very easy to make & manufacture.

[smokie1992]

Yes it is .68 Caliber. Don't mind if you guys come down on Friday but it's definitely going to be crowded (it's actually 55 - 60 kids) so if we're busy don't think we're ignoring you.

[forumsk83r]

haha alright cool, we might be comin down w/ 5 kids includin me

is it cool if we take pictures? and go up the stairs and take pictures?

[smokie1992]

Upstairs is still off limits till we get it fixed, even then I don't know for sure. As far as pictures I'd have to get with the other guys. Personally I don't see the problem but I don't make it a habit to answer for the other guys.

[forumsk83r]

check ur PM box, i pm'ed u

[BoneDaddy68]

Ideas

1 hyperball field (10 man if possible, biger the better)

2 make some kind of wooden building for center flag or attack and defend

3 like AR55 said put some money into astroturf (expensive but easy to maintain and lasts long)

4 oh and mayb add a bar, tequilla shots could bring in sum extra cash

[knuckhead09]

Originally posted by BoneDaddy68
Ideas

1 hyperball field (10 man if possible, biger the better)
Hyperball is not a bad idea, although expensive. I think for the money, airball would attract more experienced players.
2 make some kind of wooden building for center flag or attack and defend
They don't have enough room for this. Not to mention I wouldn't play it, nor would a lot of my friends, but it would be a nice noob magnet.

3 like AR55 said put some money into astroturf (expensive but easy to maintain and lasts long)
Great investment, if they would put in an airball field with astroturf, I dont care about price I'd be there every weekend I could

4 oh and mayb add a bar, tequilla shots could bring in sum extra cash
Erm...Yeah. I doubt it.

[UTLadiesMan]

Originally posted by BoneDaddy68
4 oh and mayb add a bar, tequilla shots could bring in sum extra cash

You're forgetting that like 90% of all paintballers are under 21, and the other 10% are experienced enough to know that they don't want to drink before running around awhile.

[forumsk83r]

we all went to the field today and reffed about 60 kids, it was very fun, i liked how they redesigned the indoor field, it's set up very nicely and theres more open space..

They even added a SNAKE!!! w00t
theres no more sand/sawdust, its perfect

they also have a other room and its full w/ sand....if they can push all of those sand out, it would be perfect for the turf and airball

[knuckhead09]

Hey smokie, is there any way (doesn't have to be in the near future) you could knock down the wall between the 2 indoor fields and make them one, and then lay some astro turf and setup a long airball field? That'd be real cool, I'd definately be there any weekend I could make it. Let us know if you need help with anything :tup:

[dpbmustanglax]

Knuck, I think its already hard enough to get paint to fly from one end to the other without hitting anything.

The field looks and plays very nice. I enjoyed reffing for the huge group there today. If you(smokie) need any help with anything be it working on the field or just reffing drop me a PM and I will see what I can do. The astroturf would be a great investment and would get me coming back every weekend possible.

[knuckhead09]

Originally posted by dpbmustanglax
Knuck, I think its already hard enough to get paint to fly from one end to the other without hitting anything.

The field looks and plays very nice. I enjoyed reffing for the huge group there today. If you(smokie) need any help with anything be it working on the field or just reffing drop me a PM and I will see what I can do. The astroturf would be a great investment and would get me coming back every weekend possible.

If the bunkers were airball bunkers, it might not have that problem... And IMO, the inside fields are incredibly easy to throw paint from end to end off the break...

[smokie1992]

Thanks again for the help guys it was extremely appreciated. I may take you up on the offers to help so watch out! lol As far as removing the wall we'll have to see if it's a load bearing wall, and from what I hear from the guys who knocked the big hole in it, that was no easy task. By the way guys...... if ya liked the field give it a good review on the field review!