Every time I see a paintball thread I get all nostalgic for my glory days.
I haven't played in going on 6 years now. Can anybody tell me what the sport is like in terms of popularity now vs. when I played from the mid 90s to 2006? Maybe it's only because I'm not involved anymore, but it seems like I see fewer fields and less general interest in the sport now, then I did when I quit playing. I know of several fields I used to play at in the late 90s that are long gone, and I've seen half a dozen paintball stores come and go. Come to think of it, I couldn't find APG magazine in the grocery store last time I looked about a year ago either, and I know they used to have it.
Woah, good point, I can't remember the last time I saw an AGP on a stand. And now that you mention it, my two favorite old shops changed in the last 3-5 years. 2-3 years ago one closed (and became a designer piano store - go figure if they're turning much profit in this economy... but, it is near Encino/Tarzana), and about 5-6 years ago my favorite one switched its mainstay to Airsoft, with paintball being a secondary accessory thing (but now that I think of it, havent checked them out in 2-years and I'm seriously wondering if they're still there or at the least moved - they're near a relatively busy spot I usually pass through on a busy boulevard, so... ).
Big cities can support paintball fields because most people who live in urban areas dont own their own land to play on. I live in the country, so me and my friends will play either behind my house or at the deer camp. No sense in traveling somewhere to pay to play. From 2003 to 2008 me and my friends were crazy about paintball, but times were good then.
Tournament style speedball is definitely become more popular as a pro and semi-pro sport, but its pretty expensive so there aren't a whole lot of people who do it. I'd say the lack in participation is due to people watching their spending money in this economy, not from disinterest. Time is another factor, not many people have it as they've got work, school and families to worry about.
True, still a number open out here on the outskirts of the So-Cal metropolitan area... but compared to just 6-8 years ago, every Tom, Joe, and Dick with an idea and either good enough credit or a family connection/land-owner was running a field on the weekends out and around here, trying to host office parties on the weekdays type of thing. Well, half of them are gone, so while we still have over a hundred, we're down from the ~2-300 not too long ago (and that might be bad everywhere else, but IMHO is a good thing here).
And I agree, the only problem with paintball right now, is a lack of spending cash in the hands of those who would gladly burn some on paint, markers and (even in this economy) participants need to choose between lunch or another CO2 canister refill or two.
Edit: Post 3420
