I think this is the 2nd best venue for a paintball tournament to date, behind Huntington Beach, ahead of Disney. The layout kicks Disney out of the water, all the fields are right next to each other with the vendors ringed around, so you don't have 5-man fields that are seemingly a mile from the staging area. There really isn't any room to add anything else though.
I think the parking situation is better than huntington beach; it does cost $5, but at least you don't have to park on the street 10 blocks away and walk in if you have the afternoon session. I think we're just going to have to get use to paying for parking as part of the deal with moving to these public venues.
Foot traffic is killer, and you can tell the city is really behind it. A lot of police and fire department folks on-site, provided by the city, directing traffic, resucitating the refs that are collapsing all over the place, etc. There are also some OK discounts at local restaurants in the event program. (Downside: Not enough event programs, gone by Thursday I think.) There's a lot of foot traffic from the locals, and some good coverage in the local media. (Nice article on page two of the Tribune.)
Reffing SKILL is OK, especially considering the conditions. It's hot out there. Reffing numbers are bad - some X-Ball fields only have 7 refs, and you can see some players definitely getting away with stuff.
There is a beer tent right across the way from registration, and a 16 OZ draft can be had for $3. That's a tournament winner right there.
With this weather, you do really miss the water provided by Disney, but you can get it on-site for $1/bottle or grab it from Meijer or Walmart or what not for $5/case, which is only bout 5 minutes from the field. The food pricing is much better than Disney too.
Vendors appear limited to the PSP owners, plus JT/WGP and some smaller folks, although Draxxus is notably absent.
I think the parking situation is better than huntington beach; it does cost $5, but at least you don't have to park on the street 10 blocks away and walk in if you have the afternoon session. I think we're just going to have to get use to paying for parking as part of the deal with moving to these public venues.
Foot traffic is killer, and you can tell the city is really behind it. A lot of police and fire department folks on-site, provided by the city, directing traffic, resucitating the refs that are collapsing all over the place, etc. There are also some OK discounts at local restaurants in the event program. (Downside: Not enough event programs, gone by Thursday I think.) There's a lot of foot traffic from the locals, and some good coverage in the local media. (Nice article on page two of the Tribune.)
Reffing SKILL is OK, especially considering the conditions. It's hot out there. Reffing numbers are bad - some X-Ball fields only have 7 refs, and you can see some players definitely getting away with stuff.
There is a beer tent right across the way from registration, and a 16 OZ draft can be had for $3. That's a tournament winner right there.
With this weather, you do really miss the water provided by Disney, but you can get it on-site for $1/bottle or grab it from Meijer or Walmart or what not for $5/case, which is only bout 5 minutes from the field. The food pricing is much better than Disney too.
Vendors appear limited to the PSP owners, plus JT/WGP and some smaller folks, although Draxxus is notably absent.
