Paintball Extreme Magazine, July 2005

The long anticipated opening of Bay Area Paintball in Burlingame, California has arrived! I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to the grand opening party, on Thursday, March 24th . I arrived early and took pictures of the fields before anyone played on them. They were in pristine condition! Later, I had the honor of breaking in both of those brand new fields (very cool) by playing several one-on-one games against a player from a local team, Endless. A lot of the local business people came to show support, and for many of them this was their first experience with paintball. They seemed interested, but initially unsure. Once the first game got started though, the reaction was positive. The cheering during the games was genuine and enthusiastic. What a great feeling! This was the first time anyone has ever actually cheered while I played paintball. Shortly thereafter, both fields were running virtually non stop with lots of new and experienced players. There was plenty of excellent food and drinks on hand (thanks Lori). The party (and the paintballs) flowed until 10 o'clock at night. The head ref, Saul, and the entire staff were great. I was experiencing minor marker problems during the night and was offered, on more than one occasion and by more than one ref, the use of their personal marker, now that's service!!

The interior of this 19,000 square foot indoor facility has two fields separated by a huge retractable curtain that opens to make one very large field. Once opened, the curtains roll up and become bunkers themselves. There are many unique features of Bay Area Paintball that make the experience very cool. For example, black lights for some intense glow in the dark paintball action, elevated high ground “mezzanine” at both ends of each field that could potentially double for a press or ref box, and an actual viewing are with glass that reminds me of a hockey venue. Obviously, much thought went into the creation of this facility and it shows. Good work!

- Chris Alessio

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