here is some rental gear you could pick up:

http://www.paintball-discounters.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?p_catid=240&sid=5bW2dL1055Bc7fn-31104238533.1f - http://www.paintball-discounters.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_mai n.html?p_catid=240&sid=5bW2dL1055Bc7fn-31104238533.1f

and here is a place for whole sale dealers:

http://www.paintball-discounters.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Wholesale.html - http://www.paintball-discounters.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Wholes ale.html

I hear ya, not everyone would have to buy a membership to play, you could do it on a day by day difference. Think of a tanning bed place. My wife goes to one, and it costs her 21.95 a month. Now, for a single session it costs someone 8 bucks. So, if you go thru times a month, you lose money vice paying for the membership. So, it would be a choice, play and pay by the day, or commit to a membership and can play as often as you like.
     No, not rich. I have at the most maybe 40 grand that I could come up with on my own. Of course I would be maxed out as far as money if I did that. But, there are two other guys that are interested in it, and if we pool our resources and get a good presentation to the bank, might be able to pull it off. Good friend of mine is in the banking industry so that helps.
     Other ideas I had was to form a league. Like a bowling alley, people can bowl for the hell of it, and also there are leagues there. Prizes and stuff like that for the best team. What I was thinking, 10 acres, one acre goes towards the store, food court, locker room space, etc., one acre for the parking lot. That leaves 8 acres left over. Two acres would be woods, for different types of games. Maybe even two one acre fields. That leaves 6 acres left over, split into 1/2 acre fields that would be 12 fields for speedball or whatever else we come up with. Would need space for bleachers, walkways, stuff like that. so lets say their is 5 acres left over for fields. 10 fields, 2 wood fields, a parking lot and a store, locker room, food court.
    That is what I have in mind so far. Feel free to give me ideas, criticism, etc. I will let you know how thing go from this side and keep everyone up to date. Thanks for the help
     Also, what would be good price fees for a one day pass, and a monthly membership? What would players be willing to pay?

Should I have put this post in a different thread, or is this thread ok?

http://www.shadowkasters.com - http://www.shadowkasters.com

The people on there Are Very close to where you might be located... They could give you a pointer or too...

I like the Idea...  Monthly<40$>, Daily<10$>. Our local field was experimenting with somthing over the summer and it did quite well... They had "One Splat Deal", where they supplied Everything you'll need for the whole day(Except Paint but you got a 10% discount on any paint) for 15$ but it was only a one time deal, afterwards you had to rent mask, gun etc...

If your ganna have Rented guns, I'd suggest Model 98/98 custom's, or Pro/Carbines, those 2 markers can take sever lickin' and keep on tickin'

The only thing that I'm a little worried about is maintinance on guns... Since you claim to be a rookie, you may not have a Wide knowledge of guns, and you will be constinaly nagged at by younger people <13 or younger primarily> of how there guns dont work and they want it fixed ASAP... So you may want to look at Hireing some younger people that knows how to do somthing like that...

Well I hope this Helped ya a little bit...

I was thinking about contacting the different makers of paintball guns and seeing if they offered some sort of training to repair and maintain their guns. Do that on site in the store or at the different fields, something along those lines.

I am in the process of designing a website now, first phase of it will be the idea, some drawings of what I would like the layout of the place to look like, etc.. Once i get that done I will post the link here for you all to check out. Need to think of a catchy name as well.

I strongly suggest going to different paintball fields.  You say there's nothing in Virginia beach, but a couple of hours down the road in Richmond, I'll bet you'll find a few fields.  There are also companies that travel the country to put on scenario games.  These are BIG crowd pleasers.  You should talk to them.

http://www.mxsportz.com - http://www.mxsportz.com http://www.mxsportz.com -

My team is opening a field (half woods, half speed), we got the air compresser, and fill stations, c02 fill stations, rental guns, and all rental equiment already, we now play on state land and at this local field over in canada 2 times a week, but by summer 05 we will have a field up and running.

my advice to you is go in with people, trying to start it all with urself is hard, think about what you got to buy- Land, Nets, Rental Guns, Rental Tanks, Rental Masks, Air compresser (5 grand) and there tanks with fill stations, c02 tanks and there fill stations, all the field stuff, and all the rules and all that too!

First off , Welcome to the forum and the Sport !! Kudo's for your enthusiasm !! I've played off and on since the '80s (recreationally ) been a member of this site only a short time .

Somebody mentioned about the snivelling 12 Year olds and their abused markers not working,, (I am working towards the same goal as are you , but taking a slower approach ) get an open bolt marker , (like tippmann's , and Kingmans) , and get to know its operation inside and out , these are simple reliable markers , and account for roughly 75 percent of the markers out there , then get a closed bolt marker , and get friendly with it (these are on the average , more complex, and more expensive markers , like Bob Long intimidators ie:, Timmy's ,or WGP autocockers , or Dyematrix markers ) .

Its gonna take some time to get Really knowledgable with all the products , suppliers , and variations in equipment in this game . but if you are serious , and I have no doubt you are ,its time well spent !!

along with equipment for your field , like markers , compressors , tanks , there is also the issue of operating a business , liabilities (insurance) , inventory and Variety , getting ,or becoming an airsmith (some manufacturers have their inhouse certification training , some dont ,its not like becoming an authorized repair center for automobiles ) , firstaid , and High pressure Gas handling procedures (again , some suppliers offer their certifications ,others dont ) .

I think the NPPL is one of the National Paintball organizations that offer help and support in setting up a field and dealing with these issues and others .

I LOVE the Idea of you setting up a variety of different fields , keep some reserved for Big Scenario games , I understand they are played on a Large , LARGE area .

Most PB games are Variants on Capture the flag , but there are some interesting variations I have heard about/played , There's X-ball league (a Whole Nother ball game !! , Like Arena football ) , Civil War variations ; single shots  load from the muzzle , Hunter/Mutant games (you get Two outs in this game , most start out as hunters , and as the outnumbered Mutants tag them , they begin the game again, as mutants , 15 second count to get to cover )

The biggest thing , I would suggest is spend some time , and get to know the game a bit , what makes a good Pro-shop in your opinion , what makes a good Ref , the Strengths and weaknesses of the different markers , and make it a place YOU would want to go play at above any others !!

As far as pricing , Ya, it would be nice to have everybody come play free , but it costs money to open Yer doors , having a couple different options is a great thing ,maybe kick down a discount on supplies for those with memberships , but walk ons will prolly be 80% of traffic .

 I pay $59.00 a case for field paint where I play currently , (nonmembership price ) , but for that money , I get a well staffed , clean , AIR CONDITIONED field , with the support of a full proshop on site , full warranty on the equipment that I buy there (Prices are Very reasonable , even on High end markers , just put some money down on a Pair of 2K4 mech Autocockers , Prostockers ?), as you guessed I play indoors , but in Arizona , thats a great thing when its 90-110+ degrees outside . I find the service and support is what makes Value for me , along with a good reffing staff .

Hope this helps you !!

well at the field i play at its just 10 bucks for walk ons and there is a parking lot with picnic tables and a lot of spools to put your stuff on and just a heads up large powerline spools make really good bunkers and the proshop is an old mobile home which works real good cuz its already got a kitchen and a bathroom. well ill just give u a link and maybe you can get an idea of what you like http://www.paintballquest.com/ - http://www.paintballquest.com/  oh yea if your gonna be handling fill stations and stuff you'll need to become certified and before opening a field play a lil while to see what you like

edit be willing to give up every weekend for well the rest of your life

I dont own the field , I just play there . I would guestimate for an outdoor field ,(on public ground , like BLM , or Forest Service ) with a mobile Proshop around 80K$ , for an indoor course (very small by woodsball standards ) , in excess of 120 K . Shoestring , cut those figures in half , but you better be able to do everything yourself , except smelt the metal for the markers !! You'll need to be a machinist , Airsmith , babysitter , Guru , salesman , negotiator , referee , bouncer , Mentor , Buddy ,  and keep a smile on Yer face for all of it , He-he

Edit , and Ya , what tyranny said

yeah i would say dont do the monthly thing unless you raise the price a bit otherwise its not guna make to much money. i uaualy pay 10-15 dollars field fee and if someone in my group needs a rental that usualy runs 10 bucks. Do field paint only as that is where you will make most of your money.

for the different fields make the non speedball ones a little bigger. a lot of the reason the woodsball is so much different than speed ball is the amount of movment you can do. I would say make the fields out of whatever you can find. get a flatbed trailer and ask places there they are wrecking buildings or building them for that matter for anything that you could use. old large tanks, pallets, stuff like that. Then once you make some money make an airball field and maybe a field using those huge plastic tubes. dont try to make all the fields at once wither. start small and see if you make some money first

aknapp1112 wrote: I thought about doing that, but then i started thinking, would another field help out potential competion?

Here's an example to your question: In Vallejo, Ca. there are 2 paintball fields, both cater to woodsball, rec ball and speedball, one is called Paintball Jungle (65 acres) and the other one is called Sherwood Forest (acrage unknown) and they both share a roadway leading to their fields.