The fundamental demand for
combat sports is clear, particularly from a generation of players
that have been brought up with combat computer games such as
Counter-Strike. The growth of paintball around the world has certainly shown this
demand. To a lesser
extend the survival in larger cities of dedicated indoor arena
lasertag centers
despite the high overheads is another strong indicator of sustained demand for
live action combat simulations. Information
from the International Lasertag Association (ITLA) indicates sustained growth
in lasertag arenas “in December 31, 1992, there were only 8 centers in the
United States. On December 31, 1996, there was 409 operating and as of December
31, 1997 there were 489 centers, and as at October 2001 - 2003, the number of sites in
North America is over 630 lasertag facilities.”
Likewise, according to the Paintball News Network
(PNN), there are
currently between 1,500 and 2,000 commercial paintball fields in
the US and Canada hosts between 350 and 400. Despite the success
of paintball in many countries, there are some significant
problems with paintball due to the units firing a dangerous
projectile and limitations on what a paintball can do in terms of
transmitting data.
From our experience in Australia operating
our own battlefield we have proven there is a broad
appeal for laser skirmish plus the overheads are low, the start up costs are
also low compared to other businesses and the business is very flexible.
Laser skirmish is also a low stress and fun business to operate, so it’s a great
lifestyle choice.