By Aleasha Sandley, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — A competitive game of paintball doesn’t have to leave you with a body full of welts and bruises.
Players at Ben Nagengast’s White River Paintball, 5211 S. New Columbus Road, opening to the public Saturday, can enjoy the fun of the game without worrying about the pain later or about professional paintballers taking them out before they even get started.
The complex, with six playing fields ranging from open air to deep woods, is the perfect place for paintballers to begin their hobby, Nagengast said, because the place specializes in new players with little or no experience.
“We set it up so it’s very friendly for the new players,” he said. “We turn down the guns so they are safe and make sure the paintball is softer. That really helps with the new players. That’s their main fear, is getting a bunch of welts.”
But just because the complex is a good place for a paintball enthusiast to start doesn’t mean avid players cannot enjoy it as well.
“It’s 10 times better (than Nagengast’s former facility),” said Ryan Kitto, who brings his son from Indianapolis to play at White River Paintball. “There’s lot more room, bigger fields, better facilities, better parking. It’s probably the best in the region.”
Kitto brought his 12-year-old son to test the new facility last weekend after playing regularly at Nagengast’s former facility on Anderson-Frankton Road.
“It was a blast,” Kitto said. “My son said it was the best day of paintballing ever, and I would have to agree with him.”
Kitto, a co-owner of Triple Point insurance consulting firm in Indianapolis, also brings his clients and staff to the paintball field as a team-building and relationship-forming exercise, often introducing both men and women to the sport for the first time.
“The events go really well,” Kitto said. “It’s dirty, but it’s a lot of fun. There’s a lot of strategy to play the game. If you have an office where people are not really connecting, you get people laughing out there where it’s not the norm. You do something that’s different and they appreciate that.”
Nagengast hosts a lot of corporate groups, as well as birthday and bachelor parties, besides his complex’s open hours starting 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be the complex’s grand opening, with a paintball gun (called markers) giveaway every hour, as well as other prizes and gear giveaways and showcases by paintball products companies.
Playing all day during open play is $30, or $25 if players register online at whiteriverpainball.com. With the fee, players get use of all the necessary gear and paintball marker, air tank, loader, 100 paintballs and unlimited entry into any field all day.
Private parties of 10 or more can schedule play seven days a week.
Nagengast’s former business operated out of a small shed, so the 2,000-square-foot pro shop and registration center that is almost completed for his new complex are exciting for Nagengast and his staff and clients.
“We were not able to do equipment sales in the past,” Nagengast said. “Now we have a full pro shop with CO2 fills, guns, gear and paintballs. It will be open all week. Even if players don’t play here, we still will have gear and supplies they can get. It allows us to have a lot more players and service our customers totally as far as paintball goes.”
Although he hasn’t played at the new complex yet, Bob Lair referees for White River Paintball and is excited about using the new fields.
“The new one is much better than the old one,” Lair said. “It’s so much larger and there’s so much more we can do with it. Even when it was half done, it was so much better than the old place. (Nagengast) just wants to make it as big and bad as possible, and it’s going to be amazing.”
As a referee, Lair stands in the fields during games, making sure everyone abides by the rules and plays fairly and safely. He coordinates where people go to play and suggest games for them, which can include anything from Capture the Flag to Attack the Fort.
The new complex sits on 127 acres but now only uses about 15 or 20, Nagengast said. It has three themed fields, including the Air Strip Field with helicopter and control tower props and the Battlefield with tank props. Three other fields are in the woods. Nagengast hopes to add an Old West Field in 2009, with ghost town props.
“We have been growing very quickly,” he said. “There’s no restrictions on our growth. We can go any direction.”
Nagengast, 22, started playing paintball about nine years ago as a hobby. Three years ago, he opened his first paintball complex, which started with less than 1,000 players a year. Now, Nagengast hopes to reach 10,000 players a year in the next couple years.
“It’s outdoors, there’s a lot of friendly camaraderie,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what your physical makeup is, you can be good at the game. The object of my business is for people to come out and have a blast.”
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Upcoming events at White River Paintball:
— Grand opening: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Paintball gun giveaway every hour, prize and gear giveaways, paintball products companies on hand, $25 with pre-registration at whiteriverpaintball.com.
— Battle for the Rhine: Scenario game between players representing the Allied and German forces, Oct. 4-5, camping available for weekend.
