Mind & Body
Colorful
TW*'
bus serves as a
prop at Paintball
Palace in Eugene.
Nick Medley/Emerald
With the closure of other paintball and laser tag locations in
Eugene, Paintball Palace has decided to expand its services
By Michael Hines
Oregon Daily Emerald
Even with its status as the
only joint of its kind in
town, Paintball Palace is
still working hard to
comer an ever-increasing market.
On the heels of the closing of
Hotshots Paintball & Pro Shop
and Zap Entertainment, Paintball
Palace, located at 1820 W. 17th
Ave., is offering an increasing
number of competitive opportu
nities and games.
Outdoor paintball, a mobile
arena, laser tag and “Night
Owl Paintball" are all works
in progress for the growing
business.
It all starts with the ba
sic game—paintball.
“There’s nothing
like it for cama
radene
building,”
said Paint
ball Palace
manager
Grant
Williams.
Just ask
| the Univer
sity football
team. Almost
50 of them
came in last
December be
fore the team
left for the Alo
' ha Bowl in Hawaii.
Reportedly, Jason
Cooper is quite the gamer.
Strangers who come in for
open play often become buddies
over the course of a few games,
Williams said.
"Somehow they get on a first
name basis, giving each other
high-fives,” he said.
Paintball Palace offers an
8,000-square-foot indoor space
with towers, a Volkswagen bus J
and other strategic debris®
for up to 40 gamers to play %
in at once. f|fc
Is this for college^jt.
students?
It s pretty di
verse," Williams*
said. "It’s most {ISP
popular now between the^
ages of 12 and 17,
we’ve got people fron
10 to 70.” 40
:en tnej
, butjf
3m#
Many people are under the
misconception that they can be
badly hurt by a paintball.
The balls, which travel about
220 feet per second, sometimes
hurt, Williams said, but in its four
years of operation, Paintball
Palace has never had a customer
seriously injured.
“Let’s just say you know when
you’ve been hit,” he said. “But
that’s what makes it paintball.”
Williams recommends wear
ing enough clothing to cover ex
posed skin but not so much that it
inhibits mobility.
The paintballs are generally
made to travel faster in outdoor
paintball because of the larger
distances. Paintball Palace has a
30-acre outdoor space about four
miles from its indoor arena for
spring and summer use when the
weather clears.
Many people want to play the
game but can’t accommodate the
hours, Williams said. To serve
those customers, Paintball Palace
has created a mobile arena that
I has already been booked for a
jgmigh school graduation
■party. It will also soon have
“Night Owl Paintball,” offering
popen piay until 4 a.m.
rtwo nights a week this
ptfdfcspringand summer.
“Everybody who comes
always has fun,” Williams
^Bte»«m.said.
Paintballing is
Snnly allowed for people 10
and older. So with the clo
sure of Zap Entertainment,
the only laser tag business in town,
Paintball Palace is adding laser tag
for all ages to its second floor.
Paintball Palace is aiming for
spring break as its laser tag open
ing time.
Paintball Palace offers rental
packages to those people who
don’t own the proper equipment.
Either $15 or $19 will cover a
pump shooter or semi-automatic
gun, respectively, 50 paint balls,
two hours of play and a helmet. But
this month, there is a cost discount
for students with identification.
Open play hours are from 2 p.m.
every day to 8 p.m. Mondays to
Thursdays, midnight Fridays and
Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays.
005929
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