What to do when your Local community and fields take a turn for the worse?

[Megalomaniac]

I am at a loss here, I've been playing locally for nearly 8 years and never in all that time have I seen anything like this.

 

For the longest time we only had one field, and for the most part it was run well, then a new retailer popped up promising a top notch CQB field and a quality shop, and for a while they did, with the combination of great prices, great staff, and great service they effectively killed off all the competition. Earlier this year they expanded and opened up an outdoor field, following that the old outdoor field was slated for closure. Now that they are on the verge of being the only game in town the quality of everything they do has fallen.

 

The owner who is purely profit driven refuses to actually ban anyone for a meaningful amount of time, cheat? You'll be "banned" and back next session, steal something? You'll be back in a month, damage field equipment and ruin everyone's session? You'll be back.

 

The CQB field went from being a clean well run, well kept facility to a decrepite shell of it's former self, the floor is carpeted with BBs as they appear to vacuum them up far less, the modular wall sections which make up the field are literally falling apart and becoming a hazard, and from repeated BB impacts with the sprinkler heads causing hundreds of gallons of water to leak onto field the walls and carpet reek of mold and mildew.

 

They new outdoor field they opened showed potential but now that they have become the only game in town they have begun to run paintball games on the field as well, a field that was billed as the only airsoft only field around these parts. Of course the owner is fluffing us with grand plans and designs for a new field, even if it does materialize in 12 months it'll be run so poorly that it will be unplayable.

 

As far as the local community many would be quick to just say that the problem lies with just the age of the average player dropping, but the problem isn't the lack of age but the lack of maturity, the younger players aren't experienced enough to know or demand better and the older players are too complacent as well.

 

So now here sits my dilemma, my only way to play locally is slowly being destroyed due to lack of competition, which has allowed a monopoly to spring up and control airsoft on Long Island.

 

What is a player of 8 years to do when his local community and fields are corrupted?

[FireKnife]

What is a player of 8 years to do when his local community and fields are corrupted?

 

Ask the poor guys in the UK that watch when good field after good field fall but Ground Zero still has idiots that attend it and buy from the shop 'because it is cheap'.

 

My option would be simply move, but that is me. Why not set up your own field, with people you know and make it better than the other fields. I find that it is better to play a smaller or upstart field with a few good players than a huge well thought out field attended by loads of idiots and marshalled by people that shouldn't be allowed out without water wings and a hanress on.

 

'FireKnife'

[Azubi]

Speak to the other experienced players and find out their thoughts on the matter and see who is open to the suggestion of helping set up an alternative field. If there really is no other competition in the area and people are as fed up with the crappy game as you are then there is no reason the community won't support a better site. If you make it about the gameplay as opposed to profit then It might take a while but you will notice you get a regular group of like minded people and by not aiming for profit, you can afford to compete against this other field simply by not trying to compete, only set up a site that is for the players.

[FireKnife]

At the end of the day vote on your feet will always be the best option.

 

Like here in the UK, lets look at the basics, insurance can be as low as £1500 for a site, over a year that is £125 a month or 6.25 players entries for a month (3.125 if you run twice a month). Then to rent a bit of land, probably the same so that is lets say you play twice a month with 10 players at £20 a head, you have got £5200, leaving you with about £2200 to improve the site each year (maybe less based on other costs) but as you can see already you have made something back and a chance to put money in to make improvements.

 

'FireKnife'

[Megalomaniac]

Insurance is fierce and scary beast on this side of the pond though, although airsoft does have an impeccable safety record which m

[Megalomaniac]

Insurance is fierce and scary beast on this side of the pond though, although airsoft does have an impeccable safety record which might help, the biggest issue will be getting a land owner or town or county or state park onboard.

 

I have always had a dream of running a field with complete transparency about where the money goes and how the field is improved. Thanks for the advice I went from feeling utterly dreadful and hopeless to at least having a mission.

[FireKnife]

Well i am in the same boat. No proper airsoft site in Aberdeen, just a local paintball one. So i am looking at opening my own and running the place as it should be, with honest, improvement and community.

 

'FireKnife'

[WhiteHawksan]

and added debauchery of course

[Megalomaniac]

If FireKnife is involved that is a given, no need to state it.

[Danke]

Mold and mildew can be enough to get them shut down.

 

For an alternative I'm afraid your best bet is to vote with your feet and start visiting other sites. I'm nearly 2 hours on the Highway from anywhere to play.

[QQexDERA]

I have always had a dream of running a field with complete transparency about where the money goes and how the field is improved. Thanks for the advice I went from feeling utterly dreadful and hopeless to at least having a mission.

 

If you want to run it with total transparency, then it sounds like you'd be better off setting it up as a members club, a bit like the Cimmerians do in California.

 

Fireknife - you forgot planning permission if you intend to stage more than a certain number of events per year (it's either 24 or 28, I can't remember)

[Megalomaniac]

My plan is to register as a non-profit and have completely open accounting practices, I hope to use a kickstarter like model to get the field up and going. Insurance is a nasty high price around here though, but I'm going to try, failure is always an option

[QQexDERA]

Best of luck getting it off the ground

[Leon Kennedy]

Well the wrong answer is "move to St. Louis" because you just perfectly described the scene here. One good field which is a bit of a drive, and one *suitcasey* field where nobody follows or enforces rules.

[FireKnife]

Fireknife - you forgot planning permission if you intend to stage more than a certain number of events per year (it's either 24 or 28, I can't remember)

 

From what i recall it is 26 (basically once a fortnight, no more) but if it is an indoor site then it may be different, it is an odd one

 

If FireKnife is involved that is a given, no need to state it.

 

*fruitcage* yeah, ladies night anyone? (I actually have a few interested ladies ).

 

'FireKnife'

[uscmCorps]

Mold and mildew can be enough to get them shut down.

 

This is what I was going to point out too. Mold ... Mildew ... Broken sprinklers ... Any one of these would be enough to get them shut down. Especially the sprinklers as that is a building code violation that is immediately identifiable by a building inspector. Just reporting it alone to the city should elicit an inspection.

[FireKnife]

While true, would you want some angry site / shop owner questioning you about how his site has closed and you are so successful, it can happen.

 

But either way leave them to have a bad site and make your own.

 

'FireKnife'

[uscmCorps]

Mold and mildew is a very legitimate health hazard. One that can in fact be fatal after continued exposure. Reporting it would be a public service regardless of who gets angry about it. The site owner would have no one to blame but him/herself for the negligent upkeep of the facility resulting in an unexpected (and possibly costly) closure.

 

At the very least it'll force the site owner to shut down the facility for a certain period of time and get their cash cow back up and running as quickly as possible thereby giving the OP a better kept (and safer) environment to play in.

[FireKnife]

True, but at the end of the day you have to consider that they could bring down things up on you.

 

Hence why i am looking at the game days of the nearest proper airsoft site and looking to run alternative weekends to them, that way we won't clash and be trying to nab each others business. But seeing as we would be about 60 miles away from each other it is less likely to be an issue

 

'FireKnife'

[Leon Kennedy]

True, but at the end of the day you have to consider that they could bring down things up on you.

 

I think at this point it's not even the fact that it's a *suitcasey* field, but one with health violations that need to be addressed. We could almost make a new thread about this. I don't think it's ever appropriate to ignore reporting an infraction because you don't want your own *albatross* busted. We should all adhere to code.

 

uscmCorps is right on; I used to work as a subcontractor in my summers and you should see how fast stuff gets shut down and how big the fines are for these types of things. Does the field server food? If so, their fines (if they were in the US) would literally triple for having mold and mildew. Even funnier, I have seen places similar to airsoft fields (sports parks) which sell concessions without a license, so they get slammed with the triple food charge and a citation for selling food without passing health inspections!

[FireKnife]

I'm not saying we shouldn't, of course we should but people that run sites for profit are often *albatrosses* in themselves and will do what they can, get someone else to point it out to authorities anonomusly that way you can avoid them getting back at you.

 

Over here in the UK we have a badly run, but excellently set up in terms of location, site. One that ignores chrono rules, doesn't use bios when asked and is attended by idiots, but it is still going.

 

'FireKnife'

[Leon Kennedy]

Over here in the UK we have a badly run, but excellently set up in terms of location, site. One that ignores chrono rules, doesn't use bios when asked and is attended by idiots, but it is still going.

 

'FireKnife'

 

Again, you're all nailing my local fields on the head.

[FireKnife]

At least you have a local. I don't

 

'FireKnife'

[WhiteHawksan]

We also have F&O. Which quite frankly. Rocks socks.

[Leon Kennedy]

At least you have a local. I don't

 

'FireKnife'

 

It's still an hour away. One of the reputable paintball fields is opening a place 15 from my house and they want to do airsoft. No CQB fields yet.